The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has slammed the Federal Government over the payment of half salaries to lecturers in October.
In a statement on Tuesday by ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, the union condemned the ‘pro-rata’ payment to its members and accused the government of an attempt to reduce Nigerian scholars to casual workers.
ASUU had on October 14, 2022, called off its eight-month strike after the National Industrial Court ordered the lecturers to resume.
“The action of the Union was a display of manifest trust in the judiciary and other institutions and organs of government to always put national interest above all other considerations. This we believe, as a union of thinkers, intellectuals, and patriots, will not only aid the process of amicable resolution of the crisis, but will also set the tone for smooth industrial relations between Government and Nigerian workers at large,” Osodeke said in the statement.
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He, however, said the response of the government, especially its ‘pro-rata’ payment of October salaries of academics, portrayed them as daily paid workers.
“This is not only an aberration but a contravention of all-known rules of engagement in any contract of employment for academics the world over,” the union leader exclaimed.
According to him, ASUU National Executive Committee (NEC) held on Monday deliberated on the development and noted with dismay that “paying academics on pro-rata basis, like casual workers, is unprecedented in the history of university-oriented labour relations and therefore condemned this attempt to reduce Nigerian scholars to casual workers in its entirety”.
FG Defends Half Salary Payment
The Federal Government over the weekend had defended the pro-rata payment to ASUU members in October, saying they cannot be paid for work not done.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, through the ministry’s spokesman, Olajide Oshundun, also dismissed media reports that the government was biased in paying the university teachers.
“They were paid in pro-rata to the number of days that they worked in October, counting from the day that they suspended their industrial action,” the statement partly read.
“Pro-rata was done because you cannot pay them for work not done. Everybody’s hands are tied,” he said.
