University of Ibadan

Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan

Less than 24 hours after the non-academic staff of the University of Ibadan, UI suspended its three-week strike, the Congress of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU UI have also resolved to shun the classrooms for one week. The Union said on Tuesday that

The Union said on Tuesday that it has received permission from its National body to embark on a one-week warning strike beginning from 12:01 am on Wednesday,  April 5, 2017, to 12:00 midnight of Tuesday, 11th April 2017.

According to a strike bulletin 1, released by UI ASUU Chapter signed by its Chairman, Dr Deji Omole, the one-week warning strike is to compel the university administration to address pending welfare matters affecting members of the Union.

Some of these issues include but not limited to: shortfall  and fractional payment of salary of members, illegal pension deductions, non-payment of postgraduate supervision allowance, non-payment of promotion arrears, refusal of University to conduct a credible and transparent staff audit, failure to make regularly available University Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, profile  and immediate reversal of illicit deductions and others

The union charged its members not to be involved in teaching, supervision, attending both statutory and ad hoc meetings during the strike action.

It was yesterday that the non academic Staff of the premier institution suspended their three week strike and resumed at their duty post.

The development was confirmed by The Director, Public Communication of the university, Tunji Oladejo.

It will be recalled that the non academic staff had ensured that their last strike was effective by locking all the gates into the school between 7am and 4pm. The action forced members of  the academic staff, who are not living on campus to park their vehicles outside and trekked some miles into the school to perform their statutory responsibilities.

The action forced members of  the academic staff, who are not living on campus to park their vehicles outside and trekked some miles into the school to perform their statutory responsibilities.

The three non-academic staff unions – the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, Non–Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, agreed to sheath their sword after the university authority who had promised to look into their demands. It was gathered that committees have been set up by the university council to look into each of the unions’ demands.

The striking staff agreed to suspend the strike action based on the University’s acceptance to pay the shortfall in salaries  of the non- academic and academic staff for the month of January and February as well as to ensure full payment of the March salary.

It was however gathered that though, the January and February part payment being owed the staff was paid, the University allegedly overpaid the staff and had to bring out a Special Release intimating the staff of the error in payment.

According to the release, the extra payment would be converted to be part of March salary which the staff are still expecting. The University authority therefore urged the staff to exercise caution in spending.

The University authority therefore urged the staff to exercise caution in spending.

However, to the chagrin of the staff who had already received the salary of March discovered that they were not paid in full by the University management.

Some of the staff who spoke with this magazine noted that the school only made the promise so as to deceive the workers into resuming work and that they were not going to take it lightly if the school authority renege to do the needful.

According to one of them, the main grouse of the staff is the recurrent monthly fractional payment of salaries since December 2014 and the unauthorized pension deduction the university has been taking from the staff salaries since 2004.

The source pointed out that it was apparent that pension contributions of the staff were already being deducted from the source before the salary is sent to the institution.

However, the university is also deducting about 7.5 percent from workers’ salaries which does not tally with the statement being sent by individual pension administrators.

However, the university is also deducting about 7.5 percent from workers’ salaries which does not tally with the statement being sent by individual pension administrators.