Varsity Staff Threaten Strike Over Retirement Age

[TGD]

 NON-ACADEMIC workers in Nigerian universities may have perfected plans to embark on an indefinite strike over the retirement age limit set for them by the Federal Government. This has raised palpable fear that the relative industrial peace reigning in the Nigerian University system might be truncated.

The workers, under the auspices of the Joint Action Committee comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), yesterday in Abuja, accused the Federal Government of adopting divide-and-rule tactics over the retirement age of university workers.

The unions alleged that, with the exception of the salary component, the agreements that were signed separately with the unions in November, 2009, had not been implemented.

The spokesman of the group, Promise Adewusi, who is also the President of SSANU said: "Unfortunately, almost two years down the line, fundamental elements of these agreements have not been implemented despite our best endeavours. Aside the salary component, key elements of responsibility allowance, excess workload/laboratory/workshop/studio/clinical/hazard allowance, university governance and 65 years retirement age of our members have not been implemented despite our spirited efforts to make government keep to the terms of our collective agreement."

The group also accused the out-gone sixth National Assembly of acting out of national interest by harmonising the retirement age of academic staff of polytechnics and colleges of education with that of their university counterparts, which ironically 'smuggled' 70 years retirement age for university Professors, "with a view to defeating the earlier executive bill on 65 years for non-academic staff and 70 years for professors."

Adewusi declared that irrespective of the arm of government that perpetrated the perceived injustice, the group would reject all the content of the bill.

"Failure to revert to the Executive Bill that spelt out the retirement age of non-academic staff to 65 years and that of professors to 70 years will automatically call for the resumption of the industrial action which was only suspended in November 2009 when the agreements were brokered," he said.

"For us, government is a collective body, made up of the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. Our agreements are with the Federal Government of Nigeria and any subterranean scheme to use an organ of government to subvert the agreements will be maximally resisted. We consider this a fundamental breach of our agreements, the non-passage of the bill on 65 years retirement age and the non-implementation of the non salary components as enumerated above. If immediate steps are not taken to remedy this breach, our three unions will be forced to resume our suspended strike without further assurances."

Adewusi, therefore, called on President Goodluck Jonathan to withhold his assent on the passed private member bill before him and insisted on the passage of the Executive Bill that contained the tenets of the signed November 2009 agreements.

The Joint Action Committee had, on 17th June, 2011, written a letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim, on the lacuna but yet to get a response to the letter.

The Executive Bill transmitted to the Senate was titled, "Harmonized Age of Academic Staff of Tertiary Institution Bill 2011 (HB 223) but what was passed by the two law-making chambers was, "A bill for an Act to Harmonize Retirement Age of Academic Staff of Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of education and for Matters Incidental thereto 2011 (HB. 223).

Adewusi explained that the strike action was imminent and insisted that no new notice would be issued before commencement, saying, "This is not a new strike action. Remember that it was on before the agreements were struck in November 2009 and we stated that the strike was just suspended and that any breach of the spirit of the agreements would resuscitate resumption of the action. Therefore, we are not going to give any fresh notice if nothing is done to ensure total compliance with the areas of the agreements."



The Guardian