The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off its ongoing two-week warning strike.
This announcement was made by the union’s National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, during a press conference held in Abuja on Wednesday.
Piwuna explained that the decision came after a marathon National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, which lasted through the night and ended around 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday.
He stated that the union initially went on strike due to the government’s continued failure to fulfill its commitments within the agreed timeframe.
“We’ve had useful engagements with representatives of the government to consider the response to the draft renegotiation of the 2009 agreements. However, we are definitely not where we were prior to the commencement of the strike,” Piwuna said.
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He further noted that discussions with government officials had yielded some progress, though much still remained to be done.
“The union acknowledged that the government returned to the negotiation table. While noting that a lot more work is still required, NEC came to the conclusion that the ongoing strike should be reviewed. The decision to review the strike action was a result of efforts by our students, parents, and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
“Consequently, NEC resolved to suspend the warning strike to reciprocate the efforts of well-meaning Nigerians,” he added.
ASUU had commenced the warning strike on Monday, October 13, to press home several unresolved demands.
Among its key issues are the finalisation of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, payment of the withheld three and a half months’ salaries, proper funding and revitalisation of public universities, and an end to what it describes as the victimisation of lecturers at Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
The union is also demanding the payment of outstanding salary arrears ranging between 25% and 35%, settlement of promotion arrears spanning over four years, and the release of all withheld third-party deductions, including cooperative funds and union check-off dues.