Staff of the Federal University, Lafia,
are set to embark on indefinite strike
in protest of an attempt by the
university’s vice chancellor, Prof.
Ekanem Braide, to pay them half
salary for the month of January.
This followed a directive by the
university’s management yesterday
directing staff to sign a document in
their departments authorising the
university to pay them half of their
statutory earnings for last month.
Both teaching and non-teaching staff
of the university were expectantly
awaiting alert for the belated salary of
January, only to be confronted with a
document by their respective heads of
department with a document which
stated that they had to sign to entitle
them for half salary.
The document, which read: “In view of
the shortfall in January allocation, the
following senior staff and academic
staff of the university hereby consent
to be paid with 50 percent
Responsibility Allowance (where
applicable) and excluding Peculiar
Allowance for the month of January
2016,” was not signed by any official
of the institution.
Angered by the issuance of the said
document titled ‘Consent to Part
Payment of January Salary,’ leadership
of the university’s Senior Staff
Association of Nigerian Universities,
SSANU, quickly convened a meeting
calling on all members not to sign the
document.
Sources at the meeting said the union,
which was inaugurated only last week
in the university by the national body,
directed all its members not to
append their signatures on the
document.
They also resolved that the hazard
allowance which the university
unilaterally suspended without
consultation last year must be
restored immediately.
Members of the ASUU have also
vowed to resist the “arm-twisting
tactics of the vice chancellor” whom
they accused of using bully tactics to
deny them their legitimate earnings.
They wondered why the VC could not
issue a circular to inform staff of the
delay in the payment of salaries and
the purported shortfall in the
allocation to the university last month
before issuing the directive.
Leadership of ASUU sent text
messages to its members from Minna
in Niger State where they are
attending a zonal meeting of the
union, advising them not to sign the
document which they described as
deceitful.
The stage appears set for a serious
confrontation of the university
management by staff who said they
had tolerated the excesses of the
university management led by Prof.
Braide for too long.
The vice chancellor has a rich
pedigree of confrontation with
unionists dating back to her days as
the VC of Cross River State University
of Science and Technology, where her
tenure was marred by incessant
clashes with staff for what is
described as her brash and dictatorial
style.

www.nigerianpilot.com/fed-varsity-lafia-staff-reject-half-pay-may-embark-on-strike/

@Richiez, @Fynestboi, @olawalebabs, please could you guys consider this for front page?

CC: Honourable lalasticlala

FUW will be next