The Federal Government has been urged to pay the salaries that have been withheld for more than five months by the National Association of Academic Technologists.
Before this happened, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation received a directive telling the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System Office to release four months’ worth of salaries from the unpaid salaries owed to Academic Staff Union of Universities members.
Other employees who are members of other unions at universities and other institutions are not included in this.
In response, NAAT demanded on Sunday that the 25% and 35% authorized salary increases with arrears be implemented, as per the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed with the Federal Government on August 17, 2022. The statement was signed by the organization’s president, Ideji Nwokoma, and general secretary, Abubakar Yusuf.
President Bola Tinubu’s initiatives to revitalize the nation’s economy and educational system through the Renewed Hope Agenda were commended by NAAT.
They emphasized his dedication to the development of infrastructure and human capital, pointing to the N630 billion that the TETFund Executive Secretary recently announced was distributed to universities and other postsecondary institutions.
The statement stated, in part, that “all arrangements were concluded by Federal Government on the payment of withheld salties to all members of university-based unions in federal universities and the implementation of the new salary structure of 25% and 35% salary increase for all workers in educational tertiary institutions, to the delight of everybody present, including the vice-chancellors and the union leaders.” This was one of the major highlights and takeaways from the high-level stakeholders meeting on the modalities of exiting from IPPIS, which was held on January 11, 2024, at the National Universities Commission Auditorium.
The minister went on to say that the current Federal Government is committed to doing everything within its power to prevent industrial unrest in our post-secondary educational institutions.
“Given the foregoing, we find it extremely difficult to reconcile the minister’s statement with the Federal Government’s decision to pay the withheld salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities exclusively, thereby excluding other union members.”
“We see this attempt as extremely unfair and unjust because it pits our union’s membership against the leadership and is inciting tensions because it could completely disrupt academic activities on our campuses,” the statement reads.
NAAT stated that the main reason university sector unions decided to start the strike action in the first place was the Federal Government’s inability to respect and carry out agreements reached through collective bargaining.
“Therefore, we humbly request that the minister consider the predicament of our members and promptly pay the salaries that have been withheld for more than five months, implement the approved salary increases of 25% and 35% with arrears, and release the arrears of earned allowances of NAAT members as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between NAAT and the Federal Government on August 17, 2022.”
