ASUU may go to court over half salaries as it decries casualisation status

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it is considering approaching the courts to challenge the Federal Government's decision to pay its members half salaries for the month of October.

Recall that the striking lecturers called off their eight-month-old strike on October 14 and went back to the classrooms. By the end of the month, they were shocked to receive half of their salaries.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had explained that they were paid based on the number of days they worked.

Rising from its National Executive Council meeting where this development was discussed, the union said the government’s so-called ‘pro-rata’ payment is not only an aberration but a contravention of all known rules of engagement in any contract of employment for academics the world over.

President of the union, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, argued that members of the union are not casual workers but intellectuals who cannot be paid on pro-rata basis. Pro-rata essentially translates to "in proportion," which means a process where whatever is being allocated will be distributed in equal portions.

Although the union leader was silent on whether they would embark on another strike, he, however, appealed for the understanding of Nigerian students, parents and other genuinely concerned individuals and groups in the country.

Reading the communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, Osodeke said the government’s action to pay academics like casual workers, is unprecedented in the history of university oriented labor relations.

LIB