Minimum wage: FG to pay arrears of varsity workers, deductions from IPPIS 

The Federal Government has agreed to pay the arrears of minimum wage to members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).

The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation has been given two weeks to compute the arrears from April 2019 to January 2020 and send to the Federal Ministry of Education for processing and onward forwarding to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning.

The government also set up a committee to look into the complaints on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by the unions in order to harmonise its activities and operations.

Office of the IPPIS is to involve the unions and identify those staffs that have been captured but have not being receiving salaries and pay them.

The committee is also expected to identify those unions whose check off dues have been deducted but not remitted and pay them.

The government asked the unions to forward necessary data to IPPIS.

These were some of the agreements reached at a meeting between the Federal government team and the leadership of NASU and SSANU on Tuesday in Abuja.

Both unions had threatened strike at the expiration of their 14-day ultimatum, forcing the government to call for a meeting with them.

On earned Academic allowance, the government said: “The meeting resolved that the N30 billion (Thirty billion) naira, earlier agreed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is to include all the Unions in the University Sector namely, National Association of Academic Technologist (NAAT), NASU, and SSANU, and all the Unions are to work with the AGF, NUC and Ministry of Education to achieve that by the end of December, 2020.”

In a communique at the end of the meeting both parties agreed to set up a re-negotiation committee on the FG/NASU, SSANU 2009 agreement before the end of October this year and renegotiation concluded on or before 31st December, 2020.

“Non-Payment of Retirement Benefits of Outgone Members: The AGF, Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) and the Pension Commisison (PENCOM) are to make enquires on this and update the meeting in two weeks. The Universities are to forward the death benefit claims for members that died before March 2020 through the Federal Ministry of Education to the OHCSF for processing.

“Teaching Staff Usurping Non-Teaching Units in Clear Violation of Condition of Service and Establishment Procedures: The Unions are to write to the National Universities Commission (NUC)on this and the NUC is to act on the letter within two weeks

“Neglect and Poor Funding of State Universities: It was agreed that the NUC Act would be amended in order to strengthen its regulatory capacity. It was also agreed that the Unions will work with NUC on this and involve the relevant Committee of the National Assembly (NASS).

“Non-Constitution of Visitation Panels for Universities: The meeting was informed that the Visitation panels to Federal Universities have been approved by Mr. President, but they have not been gazetted. The Federal Ministry of Education is to ensure gazeting within two weeks (29th October, 2020).

“The meeting agreed that the Panel will be inaugurated latest by the end of November, 2020 and the Panel will have a 4 – 6 weeks mandate to finish its work by 31st December, 2020 subject to the gazetting and opening of universities and submit two reports per university covering five year periods of 2011 – 2015 and 2016 – 2020,” the communique said.

Nation