PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” order instituted against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The order was imposed on ASUU following its eight-month industrial strike, which started on February 14, 2022, and was suspended on October 14.
A statement signed on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, revealed that the waiver “will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union.”
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The President directed the granting of a waiver, with a mandatory requirement for the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to secure a Document of Understanding, establishing that the “exceptional waiver” granted by the President will be the final one provided to ASUU and all other education sector unions.
Part of the statement read: “In view of his determination to mitigate the difficulties being felt during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ Order on ASUU, which will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union,” the statement added.
The ICIR reports that ASUU embarked on strike on February 14 over unmet demands by the Federal Government, resulting in the suspension of academic activities in most public universities in the country.
This subsequently resulted in Federal Government announcing that the lecturers would not be paid for the period they were on strike in accordance with the “no work, no pay” order.
The Federal Government took ASUU before the National Industrial Court when it demanded payment of salaries from February 14 to October 14, 2022, when its members were on strike.
Among other prayers, the Federal Government asked the court to declare that the eight-month ASUU strike was unlawful because it flouted the law.
THE National Industrial Court (NIC), on Tuesday, May 30, upheld the ‘no work, no pay’ policy implemented by the Federal Government against the union.
The court, however, held that Federal Government violated the autonomy of universities by imposing the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform on members of ASUU who reserve the right to determine how their salaries should be paid.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M