Ø Why we won’t call off strike – ASUU
The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, has threatened to embark on a total and indefinite strike from Monday, November 9.
NLC’s FCT Chairman, Alhassan Abubakar, who doubles as the FCT President of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, (NULGE), said the industrial action is a result of the non-implementation of the new national minimum wage.
It was gathered that primary school teachers have been on strike for the past four months and while the NULGE members joined them a week ago.
\The Chairman, FCT chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, (NUT) said the over 10,000 teachers in the FCT are at home because of the non-implementation of the new minimum wage.
The FCT NULGE President, Alhassan Abubakar, said the situation may snowball into a total shutdown of all sectors in the federal capital, should the administration remain adamant about the demands of the workers.
Meanwhile AS negotiation between the federal government and Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, lingers, the Union has reiterated that they will not called off the seven months old strike until all the issues in contention are adequately addressed to avoid a future industrial action in an event all the issues on the negotiation table are not met.
Addressing newsmen shortly after its meeting at the Niger Delta University, (NDU), Wilberforce Island, Bayelsa State yesterday, Zonal Coordinator, ASUU Port Harcourt Zone, Professor Uzo Onyebiama, called on parents and students to join ASUU in the struggle to redeem the university system and future of Nigerian youths, insisting that the demands of ASUU was not about the welfare of its members but for the revamping of university education in the country.
This is as the union accused the federal government of using the seizure of salaries as a hunger weapon against its members for refusal to migrate to the contentious Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System, IPPIS.
Professor Onyebiama, who was flanked by other ASUU chairperson NDU, Dr. Kingdom Tonbara, ASUU stalwarts, said the IPPIS will remove the autonomy of universities and install it in the hands of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
