The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has threatened to extend its ongoing industrial action indefinitely, accusing the Federal Government of ‘unseriousness’.
The union made this known at its ongoing meeting in Abuja.
Accusing the Federal Government of being unserious with the negotiations, the union promised to intimate Nigerians on the outcome of its meeting later today.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that ASUU had on Monday, February 14, 2022, announced a four-week total and comprehensive warning strike following the inability of the union and the Federal Government to reach common ground on the demands of university lecturers.
Some of ASUU’s demands include the release of revitalization funds for universities, renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, release of earned allowances for university lecturers, and deployment of the UTAS payment platform for the payment of salaries and allowances of university lecturers.
Following the expiration of the initial four weeks of the warning strike, the union had gone ahead to declare another eight weeks saying that it was giving the government more time to attend to its needs.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Friday said it has concluded plans to ensure the resumption of talks with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by next week with a view to ending the prolonged closure of Nigerian public universities.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige disclosed this in his opening remarks at a meeting between the government side and the striking National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) in his office in Abuja.
Senator Ngige noted the multiple industrial disputes in the education sector could have been averted if the unions in the sector took advantage of his open door policy like the health unions, which culminated in the peace currently enjoyed in the health sector.
The Minister, who also decried the rivalry among the education unions, made it clear that everybody is important in the university system.
He assured that the government was tackling all the disputes in education sector holistically, knowing fully well that none of the unions could function effectively without the other union