ASUU reveals it is in talks with federal government regarding strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has revealed that it is presently in talks with the federal government regarding the ongoing strike.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has revealed that it is presently in talks with the federal government regarding the ongoing strike.

On Sunday, May 29, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, the National President of the union, stated that the Professor Nimi Briggs Committee is currently in negotiations with ASUU, the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, as well as the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions.

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He further said, things are being discussed with the Federal government via the renegotiation team, and these were started last week. The negotiation is ongoing between the Briggs Committee and ASUU, and it must be done quietly.

Osodeke stated that we would come to the press when we reached an agreement. It is being hoped that this negotiation/approach will solve the situation soon, so by the end of next week, they will come to the fore and brief Nigerians. He asked for a bit of time.

Osodeke also said that there is still no date for the strike to end, and they will know only when the negotiation will be done.

While speaking about the ongoing talks with the government, Ibrahim Mohammed, SSANU National President, stated, “Yes, the Briggs Committee is negotiating with the unions, and the government should fast track the procedure.”

“We are not used to waiting at home; we are ready to go back to work when all the issues we raised are debated and agreed upon.”

Members of the ASUU started a one-month warning strike on February 14, 2022, Monday, to push the federal government to honour the contract that it signed with the union under a Memorandum of Action (MoA) in December 2020. Two years later, ASUU discontinued the nine-month strike that it launched in February 2020, and the federal government had not fulfilled even a single promise in the agreement that was signed.

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The agreement includes renegotiation of the 2009FG/ASUU pact, deployment of the University Transparency as well as Accountability Solution (UTAS) instead of IPPIS, payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), resolving promotion arrears and withheld members’ salaries, and addressing the non-remittance of the third-party deductions.

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