ASUU, FG meeting deadlocked as strike continues

The Federal Government on Thursday opened negotiations with the
Academic Staff Union of Universities at the Ministry of Labour and
Employment office in Abuja over the universities lecturers’ strike
since November 5.

The meeting, which began at 3pm and lasted till 9pm, was
adjourned till next week, as the striking teachers and government
did not reach a middle ground.

Our correspondent learnt that the closed-door meeting looked at
the seven points in the Memorandum of Action signed in September
2017, and the two parties reviewed the highlights of the
agreement.

The ASUU delegation was led by its National President, Prof
Biodun Ogunyemi, while the government side had the Minister of
Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; the Permanent Secretary of the
Ministry of Education, Sonny Echono; and the Accountant-General of
the Federation, Ahmed Idris.

The labour minister, during a brief session with newsmen before
the closed-door meeting, apologised that “talks with the academic
union are coming a bit late because we have been having
negotiations on the new minimum wage.”

Ngige said, “The government appeals to ASUU to put the interest
of the students first because they are at the receiving end of the
consideration.”

In a copy of the 2017 Memorandum of Action, which was reviewed
by the two parties, the issues of discussion included “funding for
revitalisation of universities; earned academic allowances; staff
schools; pension matters; salary shortfalls, Treasury Single
Account exemption; and state universities.”

Ogunyemi, after the six-hour meeting, said the union had put
forward its demands and the meeting had been adjourned till next
week.

He said, “No date has been fixed for next week but we will
communicate the date to you tomorrow (Friday). The union was forced
to go on strike because our plea for the implementation of the 2017
Memorandum of Action fell on deaf ears.

“Our meeting with the Minister of Education (Adamu Adamu) in May
and September 2018 to remind him of the Federal Government’s
promises to implement the agreement yielded no result.”

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