THE Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Nigerian government to meet its demands or face a strike action.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the union said an agreement it had with the government in 2010 was not renegotiated as promised.
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According to the statement, COEASU’s National Executive Committee (NEC) decided on the ultimatum after a referendum conducted across chapters of the union.
“In the unexpected event that the government fails to do the needful within the ultimatum period, the union shall declare appropriate industrial action,” the teachers said.
According to the association, the government has refused to release the N15 billion revitalization fund it promised colleges of education in the country.
It added that the fund was much less than the N478 billion recommended by the Presidential Needs Assessment across public colleges of education in 2014.
According to the union, the delay in releasing the fund had made nonsense of its value because of inflation.
COEASU accused the government of impunity, statutory breach and administrative aberration.
It said its members, especially in state-owned colleges of education, suffered hardships through non-payment of salary and salary arrears.
Besides, the union said the government refused to implement the statutory salary structure fully, carried out “extraneous promotion criteria, idiosyncratic policies”, and did not ensure full domestication of the 65-year retirement age for workers in colleges of education.
“Many colleges find it difficult to run smoothly due to non-release of running costs by the government. Many state governments have abdicated their responsibility as proprietors to TETFund, as the only projects you see in the colleges are TETFund projects.
“The Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) is causing more havoc to tertiary institutions than good. Until the end of March 2022, 1,219 lecturers in colleges of education are experiencing one problem or the other with IPPIS.
“COEASU has demanded the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), an alternative innovation of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). UTAS has been found superior to IPPIS as it has the capacity to address our payroll security concerns and the peculiarities of tertiary institutions. It is therefore ludicrous that FG has remained adamant on retaining IPPIS despite its injurious effects,” the statement added.
The warning by COEASU is coming after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) extended its warning strike and days after the Academic Staff of Polytechnic (ASUP) embarked on a warning strike over demands not met by the government.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, reportedly said on Tuesday that the Federal Government would pay ASUU, ASUP and COEASU N34 billion as part of measures to appease the aggrieved lecturers.
Marcus bears the light, and he beams it everywhere. He's a good governance and decent society advocate. He's The ICIR Reporter of the Year 2022 and has been the organisation's News Editor since September 2023. Contact him via email @ mfatunmole@icirnigeria.org