After ASUU, Colleges of Education Lecturers Begin Strike:
Two weeks after the Academic Staff Union of Universities suspended its strike, lecturers in the colleges of education on Tuesday commenced their own strike.
The lecturers, under the auspices of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, made this known in a letter to the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike on Tuesday.
The COEASU General Secretary, Mr. Nuhu Ogirima, while delivering the letter, lamented that the Federal Government had failed to address issues raised by the union.
The union’s complaints bordered on infrastructural decay, poor funding, non-implementation of the 2010 FG-COEASU agreement, poor conditions of service, brain drain and illegal imposition of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System .
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In the letter signed by the COEASU National President, Asagha Nkoro and Ogirima, the union accused the government of directing the National Commission for Colleges of Education to impose the IPPIS on colleges.
It said, “While government held a series of talks with the leadership of the union between September and December 2013, it is evident that the government does not wish to keep her side of the bargain in meeting the understanding reached at such meetings.
“This, without equivocation, is unacceptable to our union given the peculiar high nuisance and volatile nature of the colleges of education sector.
“More so, but for the constitution and inauguration of the Needs Assessment Committee, government merely paid lip services to all other issues, highlighted in our earlier correspondences”.
The union further complained about discrimination against its members via the refusal to fund the peculiar and responsibility allowances as obtainable in earned allowances of the universities; refusal to implement the migration of lower cadres as obtainable in polytechnics; and non-accreditation of programmes of the colleges of education among others.
COEASU said its members had been directed to resume the strike suspended earlier this year, “unless and until government meets the demands”.
Ogirima, who later spoke to our correspondent, said the union embarked on the action due to the attitude of the government.
He said, “You would recall that we observed a week warning strike earlier this year and the Federal Government called us for talks. Sadly, but for the NEEDS Assessment Committee which government inaugurated, all other issues remain unattended in spite of the over six months of dialogue.
Source: Punch
