The non-academic staff of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, on Monday, issued a two-week ultimatum to the institution’s management to settle all outstanding issues, otherwise the management should be ready for a strike. The workers, under the aegis of the Joint Union of Non Academic Staff of Universities, told journalists after a congress in Ibadan that the ultimatum was necessitated because of the alleged insincerity of the institution’s management. The three unions are: the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT). Mr Wale Akinremi, spokesman of the unions, said that the university since 2009 had allegedly failed to pay workers the Earned Allowances that the Federal Government had approved for them.

Akinremi said that other contending issues included the alleged privatisation of the University Staff School and the career structure proposed by the management.

According to him, the unions in 2009 had an agreement with the Federal Government on the payment of Earned Allowances but since then, management had allegedly not paid a single staff member.

“And the issue of the privatisation of the staff school is null and void and every union is saying no to It,” he said.

Akinremi said that the union had it on good record that the Federal Government had made available fund for payment of the Earned Allowances to workers.

However, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Adewole, said that the allegation of corruption was unfounded.

“These are unfounded allegations, we do not know where these came from. There is nothing like privatisation of the University Staff School,” he said.

He said that the institution had done a lot to improve staff welfare and that the council of the university, in a meeting, proposed a new career structure for all workers to prevent stagnation.

“There must be a career structure for all workers. The University of Ibadan of the 21st century must do an evaluation of all members of staff for promotion to the next level.

“The new structure is for those on CONTISS 9 and above, who will henceforth be promoted every four years and this is to further prevent staff stagnation,” Adewole said.

On the Earned Allowances, the vice chancellor said that the university was yet to effect the payment due to shortage of funds.

He said that the management would continue to dialogue with the unions to reach a compromise, adding that the situation would not be allowed to degenerate to a workers’ strike.

http://whatsupibadan.com/2015/06/16/university-of-ibadan-workers-issue-notice-of-strike/