NASU directs varsity workers to commence strike when schools reopen 

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has lamented the short-payment of its members’ salaries since February 2020 by the Federal Government through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The union said it will commence strike action in Federal Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education once they reopen.

General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi said this in a release on Monday in Abuja.

The union said it has duly filed official complaints against the Accountant General of the Federation with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige.

It said various steps aimed at resolving the crisis have failed despite two meetings with the Director in charge of IPPIS, Olufehinti Olusegun.

“Regrettably, despite your assurances via a telephone discussion sometimes in early April, 2020, the officials of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) have refused to effect appropriate corrections of all the anomalies observed by NASU members in the Federal Universities and Intra-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education up to this current moment, i.e salaries paid to our members in February, March and April, 2020.

“It is unfortunate that IPPIS has only betrayed the leadership of NASU by deceiving us into accepting that the IPPIS platform will take on board all the peculiarities affecting our members and that there will be no problem if we key into the platform. Now we know better.

“IPPIS promise of doing a three-month experiment has come our very disastrously and we are unable to allow this defective and deficient process to continue,” the statement said.

The union said it has invoked the Trade Dispute Act CAP 432, Trade Disputes (Essential Services) Act, CAP 433 of the of the law of the federation of Nigeria 1990 and Trade disputes (Amendment) Decree No 47 of 1992 otherwise called Form TD/3.

NASU said it has placed all its members in the Federal Universities and Intra-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education on a 14-day warning strike effective the date of the resumption of work in all the mentioned institutions.

In a letter with reference number NASU/CD/307/209, NASU said that the 14-day warning strike would be used to protest the refusal of IPPIS to react positively to issues that affect the correct payment of its members’ salaries and other errors identified which have been placed before the IPPIS for correction.

It added that an indefinite strike will commence if positive action is not taken to remedy the situation.