NASU threatens 14-day warning strike over shortfall in salaries
The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) says it will begin a 14-day warning strike in federal universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, over shortfall in payment of its members’ salaries.
Mr. Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU, made this known in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Adeyemi said that the non-teaching staff union was protesting the short-payment of its members’ salaries since February through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
According to Adeyemi, the association has filed the Trade Dispute Act, Trade Disputes (Essential Services) Act and the Trade Disputes (Amendment) Decree No 47 of 1992.
He said NASU has duly filed official complaints against the office of the accountant general of the federation titled: “Notification of trade dispute, inter and intra – union disputes by employers/workers organisation, among others.”
“We have raised issues in dispute to include non-payment of salaries to some staff, short payment salaries to some staff and failure to pay approved allowances as contained in the FGN/NASU 2009 agreement.
”Others are the non-deduction of check-off dues, non-deduction of cooperative and other deductions of our members in federal universities and inter-university centres, federal polytechnics and federal colleges of education.
“We have also stated in the petition that various steps aimed at resolving the crisis have failed, ” he said.
The general secretary however, noted the steps so far taken to resolve the issue including the meeting of NASU leadership with the director, IPPIS on January 21.
He said another meeting of NASU leadership with the same director was held on February 4, which did not yield any desired result.
Adeyemi also said that a letter had been issued to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, declaring a trade dispute over IPPIS officials refusal to effect appropriate corrections of all the anomalies.
He said that in spite of the assurances given by the minister, the issues have continued to linger.
Adeyemi added that NASU members have continued to observe the anomalies in their salaries paid in February, March and April.
He therefore, said that NASU’s complaints as contained in its letter dated April 7, fell on deaf ears as none of the complaints were addressed in March salaries.
“It is unfortunate that IPPIS has only betrayed the leadership of NASU by deceiving us into accepting that the IPPIS platform will take on board all the peculiarities affecting our members and that there will be no problem if we key into the platform.
“Now we know better. IPPIS promises of doing a three-month experiment has become very disastrously and we are unable to allow this defective and deficient process to continue,” he said.
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He said the association has also placed all its members in federal universities and intra-university centres, federal polytechnics and federal colleges of education on a 14-day warning strike.
Meanwhile, Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, Director, Information, Press and Public Relations, office of the accountant general of the federation in a statement, said that his attention has been drawn to series of reports on claims by tertiary institution unions, over IPPIS deductions in their salaries.
“This office is not unaware that there are bound to be teething challenges arising from migration of tertiary institutions onto IPPIS platform. This requires the understanding of all the tertiary institutions to enable us effect the necessary corrections as quickly as possible.
“On the completion of this process, the issue of payment of consequential arrears can be meaningful and realistic to ensure that there is no overpayment or underpayment arising from the payment,” he said.
