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Tag: SSANU

  • FUTA workers protest sack as SSANU begins strike

    FUTA workers protest sack as SSANU begins strike

    Some disengaged workers of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), in Ondo State staged a peaceful protest Wednesday over their dismissal by the federal government.

    Already, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) said there is no going back on its plan to embarked on an indefinite strike on Thursday if the federal government fails to withdraw its circulars that sacked its over 2000 members.

    The disengaged staff were from 30 federal government University staff schools.

    The protesters from FUTA, carried placards with different inscriptions such as “Buhari this not the change we voted for. Save our jobs”, Daramola Don’t privatize FUTA Staff Primary School”, Teachers are not second class citizens. Stop maltreating us in FUTA staff primary School.”

    Speaking with reporters shortly after the protest, the FUTA SSANU branch Chairman, Benedict Chukwudi said about 45 of his members have received their dismissal letters.

    The SSANU Chairman faulted the government decision to go ahead with the sacking despite the fact that a case filed in the court to challenge the action was still pending.

    Chukwudi, accused management of FUTA of spear-heading the battle, saying it is only FUTA among all the affected institutions that had issued sacked letters to its affected workers.

    He added that the management had also gone ahead to advertise the vacancy posts on national dailies.

    His words, “The plan to disengage some SSANU members in 30 federal universities started during former President Goodluck Jonathan’s regime but failed to achieve its aim before the government expired.

    “This same circular was also issued again on October 9, this year by the deputy director of ministry of education, Mr. E.O Fayemi directing the government to stop the salaries of the affected staff.

    “Despite the fact that the matter is in court, the present government had decided to shun the court and go ahead with the sacking.

    “The sacked workers are staff of FUTA because the primary school where they work is just an organ that cannot employ workers.

    However, the national body of SSANU has given only today to the government to reverse the circular or we embark on a national strike Thursday

    “I don’t know why the government had decided to bounce on the University staff school workers because the Navy, Police and other staff schools are still being paid by the government.”

     

  • SSANU threatens indefinite strike

    SSANU threatens indefinite strike

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has threatened to declare an indefinite strike over a directive by the Federal Government for universities to retrench workers of University Staff Schools.

    The National President of the association, Mr Samson Ugwoke made the plan known at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.

    He said that failure by the government to honour the agreement between it and SSANU on the schools would compel the association to declare an indefinite strike

    “SSANU wishes to notify the Federal Government of our intention to resume our national industrial action on rejection of the directive to Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities, by the National Salaries, income and wages Commission to retrench over 2,000 workers.

    “This set of people has been employed by the universities councils for upward of decades and productively contributing their quotas to the development of the Nigerian education system, “ he said.

    He said that the directive to retrench the workers emanated from a circular written on behalf of the minister of Education.

    According to him, the implication of this directive is that this category of workers from over 30 universities will be thrown into the unemployment market.

    Ugwoke said that University Staff Schools were an integral part of the university system, established as welfare and municipal services for scholars and staff.

    He said the children of university workers should have access to subsidised elementary education and that education should be considered a matter of right and not favour.

    Ugwoke said that the implementation of such directive would be a gross violation and breach of the 2009 agreement between the association and government.

    According to him, the agreement is that the university shall bear full capital and recurrent cost of University Staff Primary schools.

    “Having engaged the government in prolonged negotiations which culminated in the signing of the 2009 agreement, we hereby declare that we will defend the sanctity of every part of that agreement, “ he said.

    The association president said that if the motive was to curb wastage in governance, then government should beam its searchlight on other areas of the sector.

    Ugwoke said although it was the desire of the association that industrial peace be maintained in the universities, such situation should not be at the cost of its members.

  • SSANU, NASU protest unpaid allowances at UNILAG

    The University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapters of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) have protested unpaid earned allowances.

    For two days last week, the workers, bearing placards, marched round the institution to pressure the management to pay the outstanding allowances which have piled since 2009.

    Speaking with The Nation, SSANU Chairman, Adekola  Adetomiwa said the institution has not complied with the  Federal Government’s  directive  for schools to pay the allowances which are contained in the 2009 Agreement they had with the government.  In 2013, he said the government resolved to pay three and half years’ arrears (2009-2012) of the allowances totaling N30 billion.

    He said: “In January 2013, schools were expected to put the unions’ allowances in their budget so that each staff will get paid but UNILAG has not complied, which is against government’s directive.  With all the directives, why have they refused to pay?  They have collected the money from government but have refused to pay us.  We know that if we demand from 2013, it is a huge amount of money so we decided to demand for this year’s allowances, from January till date, at least to start from somewhere. But the management has refused to pay us.

    “With all these directives from the government, why have they refused to pay us? Senior staff, both teaching and non teaching, are entitled to N30,000 each  while junior staff, N15,000.  But when you sum it up from January, it is N270,000 for senior staff while N180,000 for junior staff.”

    He noted that some schools in the country have complied with the federal government directive.

    He said the allowances include: responsibility, excess workload, post graduate study, hazard, studio, and laboratory allowances, among others.

    Prior to the protest, NASU Chairman, Kehinde Ajibade, said the unions had given the management a seven-day ultimatum which elapsed on Monday last week.

    The unions also demanded the refund of “unlawful and illegal deduction of contributory pension from members of staff salaries since July2004 till date and immediate stoppage of further deduction of contributory pension from  salaries of staff as the contributory pension have been deducted from source before release of subvention for personnel cost by the federal government among others.”

    However, the Management in a statement signed by the Deputy Registrar (Information), Mr Olagoke Oke, said it was yet to receive money from the government required to pay the allowances which has made it unable to fulfill the demands of the unions.

    It said the implementation of the agreement signed by the Federal Government caused industrial disputes, which culminated in the six-month industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in 2013.

    “Following series of negotiations, the Federal Government in 2013, released funds for the first tranche to all the universities for the partial implementation of the allowances. The government promised to make further releases upon submission of returns by the universities.

    “This was subsequently disbursed at the University of Lagos, by a committee comprising members of all the four Unions, based on the agreed template. The University has since made returns to the appropriate authorities,” Oke said.

    Regarding the pension, the statement noted that deductions are made from all Federal Government workers’ salaries from the source, and the amount deducted reflected on their payslips.

    “No deduction is effected in Unilag in respect of the Contributory pension other than the one deducted at source by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) in Abuja before salary  grant is released.

    “Management appeals for calm, wishes to state that it is committed to staff welfare development of all cadre and category of staff  in her service,” the statement added.

     

  • SSANU to Buhari: Extend probes to Obasanjo’s govt

    SSANU to Buhari: Extend probes to Obasanjo’s govt

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look beyond the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan in the current corruption probes.

    The body asked the president to extend the probe exercise to the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to fully recover stolen funds from the treasury.

    Its National President, Comrade Samson Ugwoke,  spoke while addressing the National Executive Council meeting/Pre-National Delegate Conference in Jos, Plateau State.

    Expressing total support for the ongoing fight against corruption by the Buhari, Ugwoke said the government should not spare anyone found to have been involved in stealing the nation’s resources.

    He lamented that several trillions have been looted from treasury by those entrusted with public funds.

    According to him: “The present administration seems to be pursuing anti-corruption war. Corruption has killed this country.

    “We have heard of billions and trillions of naira being looted by officers of government and all of them starched abroad, not even in our country not even in our own banks.

    “They use Nigerian money to grow and improve the economy of other countries, leaving us in poverty.”

    He added: “The probe of the looters should not be selective. It should be total; that is the stand of SSANU.

    “It should be total and be extended to 1999 so that those who have killed this country since 1999 should be bought to book.”

  • SSANU to Buhari: Extend probe beyond Jonathan’s regime

    SSANU to Buhari: Extend probe beyond Jonathan’s regime

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to look beyond the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan in its corruption investigations and recover all money stolen from the nation’s treasury.

    The National President of the union, Comrade Samson Ugwoke, said this while addressing the National Executive Council meeting/Pre-National Delegate Conference in Jos.

    He said the association was in total support of the ongoing fight against corruption by the Buhari government.

    He said the government should not spare anyone found to have been involved in stealing the nation’s resources, lamenting that several trillions of naira had been looted from government treasury by those entrusted with public offices.

    Comrade Ugwoke said, “The present administration seems to be pursuing anti-corruption war. Corruption has killed this country. We have heard of billions and trillions of naira being looted by officers of government and all of them stashed abroad, not even in our country and in our own banks.

    “They use Nigerian money to grow and improve the economy of other countries, leaving us in poverty. SSANU supports the fight against corruption but with a caveat, Mr. President should pursue whoever has stolen our money to return it to our coffers.

    “The probe of the looters should not be selective, it should be total, that is the stand of SSANU. It should be total and be extended to 1999, so that those who have killed this country since 1999 should be brought to book.”

     

  • SSANU calls for removal of NUC boss

    SSANU calls for removal of NUC boss

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) at the weekend called for the removal of the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria University Commission (NUC), Prof. Julius Okojie, over his alleged role to stop funding of University Staff Schools by the Federal Government.

    Placard bearing members of the union, as well as teachers of the University of Calabar Staff School recently embarked on a peaceful protest from the National Arts Theatre to the office of the Vice Chancellor of the institution against the proposed plan.

    National President of SSANU, Comrade Samson Ugbokwe, said the move would throw thousands of workers out of employment prematurely in violation of the 2009 Federal Government/SSANU agreement.

    Represented by the Vice President of the Eastern Zone, Dr. Leku Ador, he accused the NUC of working with other government agencies to introduce the new policy.

    He said the since the NUC had initially claimed it was the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) that recommended the withdrawal of institutional funding for the schools, SSANU  wondered what role the NUC played in advising the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission against unilaterally recommending the breach of an item in an executed agreement, which the NUC not only provided the platform for its negotiation that lasted three years, but of which its Executive Secretary effectively and fully participated in.

    The SSANU boss said the staff schools were established by statutes and workers duly employed by the Universities’ Councils.

    He asked: “Why single out the Universities’ Staff Schools for discrimination when the Federal Government still funds the Navy, Army, Air force, Police Staff Schools,” adding, “It is a sadistic irony of great proportions that the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission can attempt to impugn an agreement which both the Commission, the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, the State governments and state universities fully participated in its negotiation that lasted nearly three years before conclusion by a mere circular.

    “These schools that the NUC and its cohorts are attempting to scarp have produced a crop of eminent Nigerians who form the nucleus of the human infrastructure driving Nigeria’s development. It is like attempting to scrap the Unity Schools!

    “It is even worse in the case of the Universities Staff Schools where their sustainability is the product of a negotiated and collective bargaining. If it is truly the dawn of a new era in Nigeria, the government should distance itself from this impunity being cooked up by the NUC.”

    In response to questions from reporters, Ador said if the Federal Government fails to listen to their entreaties, a grand rally would be organised in Abuja to register their displeasure after which the leadership of SSANU would meet to take a decision.

  • SSANU protests privitisation of staff schools

    SSANU protests privitisation of staff schools

    THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has staged a protest against the proposed government circular to remove University Staff Primary Schools from the nominal payrolls of the universities and government’s treasury.

    Members of the union met yesterday at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) multipurpose hall, where they held a congress, displayed placards and sang solidarity songs to express their stand on the issue.

    Addressing the union and chairing the congress, National Vice President of SSANU, Comrade Alfred Jimoh, said implementation of such directive would translate into privitisation of the universities’ staff schools, which meant a threat to the jobs of the staff of the schools.

    He said: “SSANU took its stance on the report. It is repugnant, in bad taste and offensive to the background, history, establishment and mandates of educational institutions in Nigeria and all over the world.

    “The implementation of such a directive would not only run contrary to the purpose of the creation of universities, but would undermine the prevailing industrial peace existing in the Nigerian university system and compromise its stability.”

    Jimoh said the directive was a breach of the agreement between the Federal Government and SSANU in 2009, which states that “the university shall bear full capital and recurrent cost of university staff primary schools.”

    He criticised Prof. Julius Okojie and a Federal Ministry of Education’s official, Ebenezer Fayemi, as the perpetrators of the government plans and called for their immediate sack.

    According to the union, the intentions of government concerning university staff schools, was inconsistent with the mantra of the present government to create one million jobs.

    The union declared that it would defend the agreement concerning the funding of the staff schools from the treasury of the universities “with everything within its powers, including protests, and other measures of industrial action.”

    The Chairman of SSANU, UNILAG, Comrade Adekola Adetomiwa, said since the staff schools of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Police Affairs and Ministry of Education’s 102 Unity Schools were also being funded from the treasury, there was no reason to single out university staff schools from doing the same.

    To him, the N2 billion annual budget allocated to the 24 universities that fund their staff schools was of little burden to the government, in comparison with the N100 billion spent on the Army and Police Staff Schools.

    He said about 5,000 workers could be thrown into the labour market, if the directive is followed.

     

  • SSANU protests plan to stop funding staff schools

    SSANU protests plan to stop funding staff schools

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) has condemned the Federal Ministry of Education’s plan to stop the funding of staff schools in federal universities.

    During a peaceful protest on Wednesday, members of the University of Ibadan (UI) branch of SSANU, described the step as “repugnant, in bad taste and offensive”.

    They carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Prof Okojie, Executive Secretary of NUC must go; The future of our teachers is the future of our children; Nigeria unemployment market is already saturated, don’t add university staff schools to it; An Obnoxious act, we reject it in entirety. We are not ghost workers but were employed by the council of our universities. Tell us why this discrimination. Is it because your children do not attend staff schools? SSANU says no to privatisation of University Staff Schools.”

    The Vice-President of SSANU, Southwest zone, Comrade Alfred Jimoh, said the implementation of such a directive would contravene the creation of universities, and also undermine the industrial peace in the system.

  • Varsity workers urge political will to end Boko Haram

    THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has said that President Goodluck Jonathan must demonstrate the political will and courage to expose and flush out all persons within and outside his government who have been fingered by intelligence reports to be sponsors of Boko Haram.

    The union also asked the federal government to immediately close the country’s borders with Chad, Niger Republic and Cameroon, as a way of checking the current security situation in the North East and put an end to the activities of members of the Boko Haram insurgency.

    In a communique at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, the university workers want the government to immediately put in place a team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement between the government and the union which is long over due for renegotiation or face a nationwide industrial action.

    The communique signed by its president, Comrade Samson Ugwoke and the Public Relations Officer, Comrade NAD Aboribo, and made available to The Nation in Abuja, the union said the battle to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done and achieved.

    While commending the Nigerian military for its efforts so far, the union called on the federal government to take a more pragmatic step in dealing with Boko Haram and insurgency in the country before it consumes the entire populace.

    It stressed that the union took a critical look at the current security situation in the country and noted that the situation is getting alarming by the day, adding that the unabated bombing and killing of innocent Nigerians under the guise of religion is satanic and cannot be rationalised.

    It alleged that some powerful people within and outside the country might have been using Boko Haram as a tool to achieve the controversial prophecy of doom that Nigeria will disintegrate by the year 2015.

    SSANU further observed that evidence has shown that the majority of the sect members and suicide bombers of Boko Haram are not Nigerians, adding that their operations and code of conduct are alien to Nigerian culture.

    On the 2015 general election, the union observed that the year 2015 may turn out to be a critical year and a water-shed in the history of the country, and commended the relatively peaceful conduct of the primaries by the political parties in the country and called on the politicians to continue to play the game according to the rule.

    The union advised the political class to refrain from overheating the polity through seditious campaigns and statements and called on INEC to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in 2015 by being an unbiased umpire, and ensure that the mandate of people is respected.

    The union also warned the government to avoid an impending nationwide strike in the universities and immediately put in place a team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement, pointing out that its insistence that the agreement be renegotiated has been rebuffed by the government.

  • ASUU, SSANU seek another visitation panel in LASU

    The Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Lagos State University (LASU) chapter, has said it is pitching its tent behind the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the university by inviting a visitation panel to review activities under the Vice-Chancellor Prof John Oladapo Obafunwa.

    Both unions are alleging that management is victimising their members, and stalling members’ promotion, issuing unwarranted queries and setting up kangaroo disciplinary panel for members on unsubstantiated allegations.

    ASUU also accused management of encouraging a parallel senate, irregular appointments, improper composition of Council, doctoring of documents and misguiding Governing Council on the true state of the institution, among others.

    Of greater concern to both unions however, is the review of all appointments and promotions under the present administration some of which the unions contends did not follow due process, but were rather done to favour Obafunwa’s friends and cronies.

    Nearly, four years ago, Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, set up a visitation panel to review activities of LASU,under the previous administration headed by Prof later Akanni Hussein.

    The Chairman of SSANU-LASU Comrade Oseni Saheed, told The Nation at the union office in LASU on Friday, that the union has not gone to bed over its agitation; rather it has decided to keep a low profile in order not to be labelled a clog in the wheel of progress.

    “All the things we have been agitation for including promotions of our members are still there,” Oseni said. “Remember that we even staged a protest during the last convocation which got the attention of the governor. However, we do not want government to see us as enemies or unnecessary trouble makers; that is why we have decided to suspend every agitation for now.

    “But we have a shocker for the management. We won’t tell them when to strike but they will hear from us soon. SSANU-LASU is also using this opportunity to appeal to government to visit LASU to a get true picture of situations on ground. Our management is not telling government the truth.”

    ASUU-LASU chairman Dr Adekunle Idris, said the call became necessary to salvage another imminent chaos in the university and to also ensure members’ interest are safeguarded.

    In a briefing at the university premises on Wednesday last week, Dr Idris said ASUU had made all necessary steps to toe the line of peace, noting that management is bent on compound situation in the three decade-old institution.

    ASUU Zonal Coordinator (Lagos) Dr Sola Nasir, said the union had met with Obafunwa on several occasion but the latter merely pretends to listen, only to backpedal on any agreement reached by the two parties.

    For instance, Nasir said members’ promotion for last year was inconclusive, adding that no measure has so far been taken on this year.

    Said Nasir: “No APER (Annual Performance Evaluation Report” form is circulated among academic staff. However, advertisement for appointments has been sent out.  True to the character of the present administration, appointment is being used to replace promotion. Openings were advertised to promote some individuals who are oiling the ego and assisting the vice-chancellor in his scheme of destruction. This is not the acceptable culture in the academia. ASUU would not allow any form of patronage in the system,” the union said.

    Nasir also questioned the rationale for the appointment of the new HoDs. He noted that though, such appointment is the prerogative of the vice-chancellor, yet they were not done in line with best practices. According to him, those whose names were submitted by the deans of various faculties (who are supposedly closer to the departments) for such appointment were rejected by management.

    ASUU further lamented that some academic misfits were being elevated at the expense of deserving members.

    “The vice-chancellor appointed and promoted candidates that are neither appointable nor promotable. He appointed a candidate to the position of a Senior Lecturer with two academic journals in the Faculty of Law. He also appointed an individual as a professor with less than 15 papers contrary to the principles and rules governing promotions and appointments. These 15 papers included lecture notes and conference proceedings while the percentage of acceptable papers could not have earned him a Senior Lecturer status.