Just 24 hours after initiating a total strike due to the non-implementation of a set of demands, including poor funding and staff welfare, employees of Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) have suspended their indefinite strike.
The protesting non-academic officials—belonging to the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and other affiliated bodies like the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASUEAI), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAATs)–had halted operations across the two campuses at Obio Akpa in Abak Local Government Area and the main campus at Ikot Akpaden in Mkpat LGA starting midnight on Wednesday.
NASU Chairman in the institution, Comrade Mefiok Umanah, held a lengthy meeting with government officials on Wednesday, where they were persuaded to suspend the strike and allow the government time to assess their demands for potential implementation.
At the emergency Congress of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising all the affiliate unions on Thursday, Umanah, who also serves as the JAC Secretary, briefed members on the outcome of the Government House meeting. He stressed the government’s stance on their demands, which include poor funding affecting academic infrastructure and workers’ welfare.
Umanah expressed frustration that while civil servants in the state enjoyed the yuletide season, AKSU workers faced a crisis situation as they were denied government packages.
Other grievances included the non-implementation of petrol subsidy removal palliative for AKSU workers, no double salary in December as announced by Governor Eno for all civil servants, and the non-implementation of the N30,000 hazard allowance for senior workers and N15,000 for junior staff.
Other complaints included the lack of a conducive environment for teaching, learning, and research, with only two hours (10 a.m. – 12 p.m.) dedicated to running generators to power the school every day. The workers also noted the absence of leave allowance due to inadequate subvention and the non-institution of a functional Governing Council for the school.
They argued that major issues would have been properly channelled through the council to the government for implementation, including buildings and other infrastructures. However, they acknowledged that the frequent interventions by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) were responsible for 90 per cent of all the buildings on the campus.
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