* Threatens to Drag ASUU before Industrial Court
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has
said that the federal government may be forced to drag the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) before the National Arbitration
Panel and even the National Industrial Court if it fails to respond
to invitation for negotiation.
He urged the striking ASUU to take the opportunity of a recent
invitation by the federal government to return to the
roundtable.
The minister said that he had invited the leadership of the
union for a zoom meeting, but they insisted on meeting him face to
face.
“I invited ASUU for a zoom meeting in compliance with World
Health Organisation (WHO) and National Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC) Covid-19 guidelines, but they insisted on meeting me face to
face. We have labour laws,” he said.
ASUU had said that negotiations via zoom will not be able to
produce the desired solution to the lingering dispute.
It said that for it to suspend the strike, the federal
government must make substantial progress in addressing their key
demands which include payment of arrears of earned allowances,
revitalization fund, and constituting visitation panels for federal
universities.
However, Ngige warned that if the union refuses to come to the
roundtable, the federal government may resort to labour laws to see
what can be done.
He said: “The law permits the federal government to take the
union to the National Arbitration Panel and even the National
Industrial Court.”
According to a statement by his media aide, Emmanuel Nzomiwu,
the minister spoke in his hometown, Alor, Anambra State where he
donated palliatives worth N15 million to vulnerable households to
cushion the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on them.
He said the ASUU strike was all about the Integrated Payroll and
Personnel Information System (IPPIS), adding that “any other reason
given by ASUU is an alibi.”
Ngige accused the leadership of the union of deceiving the
members and not telling them the truth.
“We have hierarchy of arbitration. There is the National
Arbitration Panel. If I am tired, I can refer it to the National
Arbitration Panel. If I am tired, I can refer it to the National
Industrial Court. The better thing for them is to come and
negotiate on firsthand basis where we are not bringing an external
arbitrator,” Ngige said.
The minister described the position of ASUU in the dispute with
the federal government as laughable, saying: “As an employee, you
lack the right to dictate for your employers how to receive
wages.
“It is even in the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
convention on wages. You cannot dictate for your employers how to
pay you. But the important thing is for your salaries and wages to
come to you. As a workman, you receive your pay as compensation for
services rendered. So, that is on the statute everywhere.
“But for some strange reasons, this has been an issue with the
Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities. Why? they claimed
that they are being migrated from the GFMIS (Government Integrated
Financial Management Information (GFMIS) platform to the
IPPIS).”
Ngige said that the federal government has complained that it
was losing a lot of money paying lecturers from the GFMIS platform,
which only transmits money for your salaries to the university
system through the Bursar’s office, from where they are paid.
“The anomalies are that, one, some of the people are ghost
workers. They don’t exist at all but their names exist and they are
drawing money from the federal government.
“Some people receive more than their due because after the
salaries, some who are teaching in various other universities are
supposed to take 50 per cent as extra pay for teaching in that
other universities and the maximum universities they should teach
is two. Some teach in three, some teach in four universities.
“Again, the taxes that are being deducted by your bursar and
your Vice Chancellor’s are not reflective of the taxes of PAYE (Pay
As You Earn). They are not and because they are not, the shortfall
of the taxes that are deducted, the various state governments, the
various state governments where the universities are domiciled have
petitioned the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to demand for this shortfalls,
to demand for this shortfalls,” Ngige said.
The minister said over some time the shortfalls in tax deduction
accumulated to over N800 billion, and JTB penalised the federal
government for these monies not paid to the states.
He added that the federal government from the office of the
Accountant General of the Federation paid over N800 billion to
states.
Ngige further lamented the uncompromising attitude of ASUU in
the dispute.
He said not minding that the strike, which commenced on March 9
did not follow due process, he brought the lecturers to a
roundtable with the Federal Ministry of Education and the
Accountant General of the Federation.
“We had discussions and they now said that some of the
agreements we had in Memorandum of Action 2019 were not implemented
vigorously and we agreed that they will be paid 25 billion for
their earned academic allowances and another N25 billion for
revitalization of university system.
“The federal government paid the first tranche of N50 billion,
N25 billion and N25 billion. Thereafter, there was the issue of
National Minimum Wage. Flowing from National Minimum Wage, there
was the issue of consequential adjustment on that minimum wage,
which cost the federal government N160 billion. I negotiated
it.
“The federal government had to pay retroactively with effect
from when the president signed the National Minimum Wage. So, the
federal government could not pay ASUU the next tranche of N25
billion because it was due to be paid in October last year. They
said there is a breach.
“We said we are owing, that we can pay it. So, we restructured
it and agreed that the government can pay them N20 billion and
another N20 billion for earned academic allowances between April
2020 and May. We all agreed,” Ngige said.
The minister said the federal government even agreed to test the
University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) system
proposed by ASUU to encourage presidential order 5 on local
production, but the union asked for 18 months to enable its
researchers conclude work on it.
He said the government side recommended that ASUU should migrate
to the IPPIS while waiting for their researchers to conclude work
on UNITAS and bring it for integrity test for all parties to agree,
but the union refused to return to the roundtable.
* Threatens to Drag ASUU before Industrial Court
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has
said that the federal government may be forced to drag the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) before the National Arbitration
Panel and even the National Industrial Court if it fails to respond
to invitation for negotiation.
He urged the striking ASUU to take the opportunity of a recent
invitation by the federal government to return to the
roundtable.
The minister said that he had invited the leadership of the
union for a zoom meeting, but they insisted on meeting him face to
face.
“I invited ASUU for a zoom meeting in compliance with World
Health Organisation (WHO) and National Centre for Disease Control
(NCDC) Covid-19 guidelines, but they insisted on meeting me face to
face. We have labour laws,” he said.
ASUU had said that negotiations via zoom will not be able to
produce the desired solution to the lingering dispute.
It said that for it to suspend the strike, the federal
government must make substantial progress in addressing their key
demands which include payment of arrears of earned allowances,
revitalization fund, and constituting visitation panels for federal
universities.
However, Ngige warned that if the union refuses to come to the
roundtable, the federal government may resort to labour laws to see
what can be done.
He said: “The law permits the federal government to take the
union to the National Arbitration Panel and even the National
Industrial Court.”
According to a statement by his media aide, Emmanuel Nzomiwu,
the minister spoke in his hometown, Alor, Anambra State where he
donated palliatives worth N15 million to vulnerable households to
cushion the effects of Covid-19 pandemic on them.
He said the ASUU strike was all about the Integrated Payroll and
Personnel Information System (IPPIS), adding that “any other reason
given by ASUU is an alibi.”
Ngige accused the leadership of the union of deceiving the
members and not telling them the truth.
“We have hierarchy of arbitration. There is the National
Arbitration Panel. If I am tired, I can refer it to the National
Arbitration Panel. If I am tired, I can refer it to the National
Industrial Court. The better thing for them is to come and
negotiate on firsthand basis where we are not bringing an external
arbitrator,” Ngige said.
The minister described the position of ASUU in the dispute with
the federal government as laughable, saying: “As an employee, you
lack the right to dictate for your employers how to receive
wages.
“It is even in the International Labour Organisation (ILO)
convention on wages. You cannot dictate for your employers how to
pay you. But the important thing is for your salaries and wages to
come to you. As a workman, you receive your pay as compensation for
services rendered. So, that is on the statute everywhere.
“But for some strange reasons, this has been an issue with the
Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities. Why? they claimed
that they are being migrated from the GFMIS (Government Integrated
Financial Management Information (GFMIS) platform to the
IPPIS).”
Ngige said that the federal government has complained that it
was losing a lot of money paying lecturers from the GFMIS platform,
which only transmits money for your salaries to the university
system through the Bursar’s office, from where they are paid.
“The anomalies are that, one, some of the people are ghost
workers. They don’t exist at all but their names exist and they are
drawing money from the federal government.
“Some people receive more than their due because after the
salaries, some who are teaching in various other universities are
supposed to take 50 per cent as extra pay for teaching in that
other universities and the maximum universities they should teach
is two. Some teach in three, some teach in four universities.
“Again, the taxes that are being deducted by your bursar and
your Vice Chancellor’s are not reflective of the taxes of PAYE (Pay
As You Earn). They are not and because they are not, the shortfall
of the taxes that are deducted, the various state governments, the
various state governments where the universities are domiciled have
petitioned the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to demand for this shortfalls,
to demand for this shortfalls,” Ngige said.
The minister said over some time the shortfalls in tax deduction
accumulated to over N800 billion, and JTB penalised the federal
government for these monies not paid to the states.
He added that the federal government from the office of the
Accountant General of the Federation paid over N800 billion to
states.
Ngige further lamented the uncompromising attitude of ASUU in
the dispute.
He said not minding that the strike, which commenced on March 9
did not follow due process, he brought the lecturers to a
roundtable with the Federal Ministry of Education and the
Accountant General of the Federation.
“We had discussions and they now said that some of the
agreements we had in Memorandum of Action 2019 were not implemented
vigorously and we agreed that they will be paid 25 billion for
their earned academic allowances and another N25 billion for
revitalization of university system.
“The federal government paid the first tranche of N50 billion,
N25 billion and N25 billion. Thereafter, there was the issue of
National Minimum Wage. Flowing from National Minimum Wage, there
was the issue of consequential adjustment on that minimum wage,
which cost the federal government N160 billion. I negotiated
it.
“The federal government had to pay retroactively with effect
from when the president signed the National Minimum Wage. So, the
federal government could not pay ASUU the next tranche of N25
billion because it was due to be paid in October last year. They
said there is a breach.
“We said we are owing, that we can pay it. So, we restructured
it and agreed that the government can pay them N20 billion and
another N20 billion for earned academic allowances between April
2020 and May. We all agreed,” Ngige said.
The minister said the federal government even agreed to test the
University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) system
proposed by ASUU to encourage presidential order 5 on local
production, but the union asked for 18 months to enable its
researchers conclude work on it.
He said the government side recommended that ASUU should migrate
to the IPPIS while waiting for their researchers to conclude work
on UNITAS and bring it for integrity test for all parties to agree,
but the union refused to return to the roundtable.