FUTO: NON-academic staff UNION begin STRIKE
The Non-academic staff and other official activities of Federal university of technology Owerri (FUTO) had been the day before today grounded by using protesting participants of the Non-academic staff Union of Universities (NASU).
The aggrieved people, under the auspices of the Joint action Committee (JAC) comprising of Non-academic staff Union (NASU), the Senior staff association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the national association of educational Scientists (NAATS), said they were following the directive of the national body.
FUTO: NON-academic staff UNION start STRIKE
Chairman of JAC Comrade Ibeji Nwokeoma said: “The Federal government gave N23 billion for the payment of earned allowance to all workers of Federal Universities, unfortunately, the money was hijacked by our sister union and they shared it as their spirit moved them, giving over N18 billion to the academic staff Union of Universities (ASUU) alone, leaving a little above N4 billion for three independent staff unions. ASUU hijacked the cash on the national stage in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of education.
“We felt it became incorrect and we asked the Federal government what the sharing formula was, why they could deliver one union over N18 billion out of the N23 billion. We also want to know the yardstick for the sharing, whether population or the nature of work they do in the university, but till now, the Federal government has answered us.
“So we are annoying that if what they gave is instructional earned allowance as they referred to as it, the authorities have to give us our own fair proportion of the largesse. They have to also give the Non-academic staff their own earned allowance because we all work in the university.
“We have been peaceful all these while about the strike however the authorities has been recalcitrant and that is why we followed the measure to draw the general public’s attention to prevail on the Federal government to address the difficulty so that our students will now not suffer”.
SSANU Chairman, Comrade Franklin Matheus, said: “We need to tell the public via this action that we signed a Memorandum of information (MoU) with the Federal authorities on problems which includes shortfall in employees’ salaries, earned allowances and staff school emoluments, but none has been applied. We agreed that these earned allowances will be paid before the quit of last year, but what the government did was to give ASUU N23 billion and a paltry N4 billion to all the non-academic staff unions. So if the Federal authorities will pay N23 billion to ASSU as earned academic allowance, we're stressful N66 billion as our earned allowances.
“We want the government to obey the judgment of the industrial court. we will only end this strike if the government addresses the skewed allowance and pay us N66 billion which is the earned allowance for non-instructional staffs.”
FUTO: NON-academic staff UNION begin STRIKE
