Bayero University chapter of the Joint Action Committee of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) have joined the nationwide protest over poor condition of service three months after the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the federal government.
The protest, which was scheduled to hold for three days across the country, was instigated by the federal government’s delay in implementing the terms of the MoU it signed with the unions when they embarked on a two-week warning strike to press home their demand in October last year.
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Members of the unions jointly expressed grievances over the discrepancies and irregularities associated with the newly introduced payment system, the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) under which some members of staff allegedly lost over 40 per cent of their salaries unjustifiably.
This protest is coming barely a week to the reopening of the universities after nine months of closure due to ASUU strike over the same payment system.
The protest was characterized by a peaceful procession from convocation arena of the institution to its senate building where the protesting staff were addressed by the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adamu Sagir Abbas.
Presenting the letter of complaint to the VC for onward delivery to the minister of education, Malam Adamu Adamu, the SSANU chairman of the University, Dr Haruna Aliyu identified inconsistency in their monthly pay due to IPPIS as their major concern, urging the government to expedite action to address the issue and many others contained in the MoU it had signed.
“If you recall Mr. Vice Chancellor, in October last year the two unions went on two-week warning strike in order to ask the federal government to do the needful regarding our demands part of which is the irregularities in the payment of our salaries via IPPIS, secondly nonpayment of retirement benefit to our retired members as well as the inability of the government to pay the minimum wage arrears.
He said “Ever since this IPPS payment structure started our members are not receiving their salaries as at when due, and are not receiving what they ought to have received, our salaries, some are losing 40 per cent, 30 percent, 45 percent.
“We addressed this issue to the government and government promised through that memorandum of understanding that we signed that the problem will be solved within a shortest possible period of time. Unfortunately five months later nothing has been done” he added.
Addressing the protesters, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Adamu Sagir Abbas, assured the university’s commitment to ensuring that all members of staff get what is due to them, while urging them to be peaceful and orderly in their protest.
He also promised to personally deliver the letter of complaint issued by the protesting unions to the minister of education for necessary action.
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