The Federal Government has come under fire from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for paying lecturers only half their regular pay in October.
ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke issued a statement on Tuesday in which the union denounced the “pro-rata” payment to its members and claimed that the government was trying to turn Nigerian scholars into casual workers.
Following a resumption order from the National Industrial Court, ASUU ended its eight-month strike on October 14, 2022.
“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,” ASUU President said in the statement.
According to him, 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.
He further said that 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”.