₦airaland Forum

Seven-month strike lingers as ASUU, govt fight over payment platform

*Govt says 57,000 out of 71,700 lecturers in Nigeria already on IPPIS
*FG only paying those lecturers intimidated to join govt’s platform – Union.

The Federal Government on Sunday criticised the Academic Staff Union Universities, saying issues concerning seven-month strike by the union were confusing.

The Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, who stated this in an interview with one of correspondents in Abuja, accused the union of muddling things up over the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

But in its response, the union said government wanted to turn Nigerians against university lecturers.

Recall that ASUU had on March 23 begun an indefinite strike over the Federal Government’s insistence on implementing the IPPIS, which the government said all its employees must adopt for their salaries to be paid.

Besides opposing the IPPIS, union also accused the Federal Government of not abiding by agreements both sides signed a few years ago.

Two weeks ago, there were indications that the strike would soon end as the Federal Government said that it might consider adopting the University Transparency Account System , which ASUU developed as an alternative to the IPPIS.

But the hope that students of public universities would soon resume dimmed on Sunday as the government and ASUU tackled each other on the payment system.

Berating ASUU, the Minister of State for Education, Nwajiuba, said, “We have a situation that is quite confusing because a lot of the issues are muddled up so you don’t know which one they (ASUU) want to address and which one they don’t want to address.”

He said government would not integrate ASUU’s payment system with the IPPIS until it is tested.

The minister stated, “If we are going to start adopting platforms from different groups, it will defeat the entire purpose for which we want to have a unified way of knowing how much we owe or due to pay at any time so that we can budget for it and plan for it. They (ASUU) said no, they had a system that they would like to develop, government said, ‘go ahead develop any system, it is not a problem.’

According to him, government told the union that ASUU’s payment system must tally with the IPPIS.

He stated that the government directed the lecturers to register on the IPPIS, while developing their system so that they could collect their salaries.

ASUU brought a semi-finished payment system – FG

He stated, “When originally we asked them how long it would take (to develop the system), they said 18 months and after a while, they brought us a semi -finished product and said the six months they had been on strike they had used it to develop the system and that we should now integrate it with our system. Government said no, we are not going to fuse this with all of our plans yet, until we independently work on it and see how it works which is where we are.

“So I still don’t understand what the issue is. We have been paying them and all the salaries we have paid them, have been paid on the IPPIS. So I don’t understand what they mean by they don’t want the IPPIS. They are already on the IPPIS.


“Out of 71,700 lecturers in Nigeria, we have 57,000 already on the IPPIS. So I don’t understand the basis for the strike. If it is the IPPIS, I don’t understand why anybody will claim they are not on the IPPIS when they are on IPPIS. I don’t understand why people will collect salaries and will not work. Even if you don’t like the system, do the work for which you are receiving the pay. I don’t understand it.

“The primary purpose for which lecturers were employed is to lecture our students and that is why we are paying them. Now for six months or going to a year you are at home, you don’t want to teach, but if government wants to approve promotions you will appear. If government wants to appoint a new vice chancellor, you will appear.”

The minister said government was not out to punish any ASUU member. He stated, “The job of the government is not to look for who to punish or sack. We are in need of manpower in Nigeria. The reason we want ASUU back is that there is a purpose for which we built these universities.

“In every other place in the world, you can’t shut down the university system and just walk away. It is only in Nigeria they do it.”

“The money government is using to pay these lecturers is the money we get from other people. The money is Nigerians’ money and we hand it over to lecturers for a job, but they don’t want to do it.”

When asked if there was no going back on the IPPIS, he stated, “The IPPIS predates this government. The IPPIS was conceived in Nigeria in 2013. When we came, almost everything that was impossible to implement in Nigeria because of institutional bottlenecks, we started implementing it.”

Minister creating confusion – ASUU

But the National president ASUU, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, said that Nwajiuba was deliberating creating confusion.

Ogunyemi, while reacting to Nwajiuba’s statement, said, “The IPPIS came as a distraction; there are five issues we raised. Have they addressed the issues; constitution of visitation panel, earned academics allowances of our members and proliferation of universities particularly state universities? It is hypocritical for the minister to say he doesn’t know what ASUU wants. They are deliberately creating confusion so that Nigerians will put the blame on academics and they will absolve themselves of any blame.”

He explained further that all the figures quoted by the minister were incorrect while he challenged the minister to produce the list of the 57,000 members of the union on the IPPIS.

IPPIS has not captured one quarter of lecturers – ASUU

“The figure cannot be correct we know that as far as lecturers are concerned we can’t have that number. We met with the Accountant General of the Federation, office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, and we got different figures. From our research we know they have not captured up to one quarter of our membership. If they believe they have captured our members in the IPPIS platform, they are joking. The figure that the minister is brandishing could not be correct because we don’t have that number in federal universities. He can show us the list of those 57, 000.”

Ogunyemi noted that the issue of the IPPIS dated back to 2013 when Nwajiuba was not yet in government and as such did not know the history of the struggle.

“Yes they didn’t say they will abandon the IPPIS but the discussion on the IPPIS dated back to 2013 when he was not in government so he cannot know the history of the IPPIS more than ASUU. We engaged government in 2013 and showed them why the IPPIS cannot work in university system. By 2014 we were discussing with government on the possibility of jointly developing a platform that would serve the university better. The IPPIS was developed for civil servants. We couldn’t have told government to abandon the IPPIS, but the IPPIS was not originally meant for the university and we challenge them that there is no university in the world where the IPPIS is being implemented where the salaries of the university staff are paid directly through the civil service. The essence of having governing council will be defeated. Many of those who enrolled in the IPPIS are rejecting it already. If non-academic staff have accepted the IPPIS they cannot equate that with ASUU. This is the time they should demonstrate the goodwill they promised us. I don’t believe he is speaking for government on that. He was not present at the three presentations we have had so he cannot appreciate the usefulness of UTAS. UTAS is ahead of the IPPIS.

“That issue of collecting money without working I am not sure he is in the true picture of what is happing in our campuses

“We have our colleagues who have not been paid one kobo since February this year because the IPPIS claims to have one issue or the other with them. When the President said they should pay us, by the time they would pay some colleagues have they have six months arrears, four months and nine months of unpaid salaries.

“They have been paying those who they intimidated to join the IPPIS and those they know have like a year, two years to retirement, they now told them that if they don’t join the IPPIS, the payment of their gratuity will not be guaranteed. They are those just coming to the system without undergoing the due process and the IPPIS operators are bringing people in through the backdoor. Another group are those who have issues with the union and government is leveraging on that to pull them to their side.”

The controversial Integrated Payroll Process System (IPPIS) introduced by the federal government is a distraction and not part of the reasons for the lingering strike by university lecturers, says Biodun Ogunyemi, the president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

University lecturers are yet to reach an agreement with the federal government to put an end to the seven-month-old industrial action.

As a result, universities across the country are yet to resume academic activities over a month since the government ordered the reopening of schools after the COVID-19 lockdown.

The three meetings held with the federal government since schools were reopened have so far ended in a stalemate.

Although the demands of the ‘striking’ lecturers border around the improvement of their welfare and revitalisation of universities, the IPPIS controversy remains one of the issues that both parties do not agree on.

While the federal government has insisted that the lecturers should be enrolled under IPPIS, even if they will migrate to University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), the alternative recommended by ASUU, the union has disagreed, stating that the IPPIS undermines the autonomy of the universities.

Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Mr Ogunyemi noted that the strike would have been called off save for the way the government has handled the negotiations.

“We started this strike in March as a result of the government’s inability to take the necessary steps. We had a NEC meeting that is the National Executive Council meeting at the negotiations last year, where we gave the government two weeks to address five outstanding issues.”

“The issue of the revitalisation of universities as agreed with us in 2019; the issue of renegotiation of our agreements that dates back to 2009; and the issue of reconstitution of the negotiating team so that we could quickly conclude our negotiation of that agreement; the issue of earned academic allowances to our members, which they promised to pay two tranches November, 2019 and July 2020; the issue of visitation panels to federal universities, which they agreed with us that will be done between April and May 2019.”

“And finally the issue of proliferation of universities, particularly by state governments and the issue of governors in our universities.”

Mr Ogunyemi said when the strike began earlier this year, the government was still “dribbling” the union.

“They come and give us some positions that are not acceptable to our members, they are now talking of the economic reality and that was before the COVID-19 crisis.”


On the issue of IPPIS, the group’s president said it was first introduced in 2013 and was repelled by his predecessor.

According to him, the union disagreed with the IPPIS because it was meant for the civil service.

“So we said, well, let’s constitute a joint team to think of alternatives or to work out an alternative and we were prepared. So we submitted the names of our members, our representatives and we’re expecting them to get back to us since 2014. It was just 2019 the government came back to see where it is.”

Speaking further, he said the UTAS has passed through necessary stages except for the credibility test to be conducted by the National Information Technology Development Agency.

Mr Ogunyemi added that some lecturers have been owed more than six months salaries because they have not been enrolled under the IPPIS.

“There are three scenarios playing out on our campuses of the federal universities. We have those who have not been paid anymore salaries since February till date. We have then the second scenario in which lecturers have been paid up to June 2020, then the third category is where lecturers have not been paid since July.”

He alleged that the federal government selectively paid some lecturers who are yet to be enrolled under the controversial system.

Addressing parents and students, the ASUU president said; “I believe our students and their parents will understand. If we have lecturers that are not being paid for eight to nine months, how can we have that person putting in his best in the system?"

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has accused the Federal Government of frustrating efforts to resolve issues that led to the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the lecturers.

The National President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, said this on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television and monitored by our correspondent.

He explained that the Federal Government has refused to take the necessary steps in addressing the strike action.

According to him, the delay in adopting ASUU’s preferred platform, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution, is one of the major reasons why the strike has not been suspended.

He said, “The strike is still on as a result of the FG not taking the necessary steps. We gave them two weeks to address our five points demands.

“We engaged the government but they were not forthcoming. They had a whole year to address those issues. They gave us positions that were not acceptable to our members.

“During our first meeting, we thought they were almost resolving the issues.

“What compounded the problem is the issue of IPPIS. We have said that it is a distraction. There is no university in the world that IPPIS is being used.

“We have done three presentations of UTAS to the Minister of Education and his team, the leadership of Senate and Office of the Accountant-General. They only agreed that UTAS is accepted in principles.

“We are almost getting UTAS approved but govt is saying that our members should first migrate to IPPIS before returning to UTAS. That makes no economic sense. The government has made it difficult for smooth negotiation. They said our members will be paid when they move to IPPIS.”

A few hours before the interview, the Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, said FG was committed to ending the strike.

“We will keep pushing for a consensus on this issue so as to bring the much-needed succour to students at home,” he tweeted.

For the second time in one week, the meeting between the FG and ASUU deadlocked on Wednesday as they failed to agree on the payment platform to be used in disbursing the salary arrears and the N30bn Earned Allowance of the university lecturers.

The FG team led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had offered to pay the salary arrears and the N30bn Earned Allowances of the university lecturers through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System platform pending the roll-out of ASUU’s preferred platform, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution.

But the ASUU delegation led by Ogunyemi insisted that the payment should be made through the UTAS.

Sequel to their failure to reach a consensus, the parties agreed to consult their respective principals and stakeholders and adjourned till next week Wednesday.

ManLikeL:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2020/10/26/fg-ASUU-resume-talks-today-over-ippis-revitalisation-fund/amp/?espv=1
Cc
Mynd44
Lalasticlala

FG, ASUU Resume Talks Today over IPPIS, Revitalisation Fund

The federal government’s negotiating team and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will resume negotiations today to iron out their differences over the application of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and the proposed release of N30 billion university revitalisation fund.

Confirming the planned resumption of the talks to THISDAY yesterday, Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said: “The contentious issues have virtually been addressed except for IPPIS and revitalisation fund, which ASUU opted to go and consult its organs.”

He said government was working on the gazetting of the visitation panel for the universities and reconstitution of negotiating team, adding that announcement will be made on both issues this week.

However, there are indications that today’s meeting between ASUU and the federal government team may be deadlocked again unless President Muhammadu Buhari intervenes to order payment of salaries to lecturers based on old GIFMIS platform pending when UTAS is ready for use.

At their last meeting on Thursday, both parties had disagreed on two key issues, revitalisation fund and how to handle payment of salaries to ASUU members pending the conclusion of an ongoing test run on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).

THISDAY learnt that ASUU had shifted ground at the last meeting by requesting that the federal government provides N110 billion, half of the N220 billion it demanded as revitalisation fund for federal universities.

But the government said it cannot afford that with the present state of the economy.

Ngige had reminded ASUU of the position of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with regard to “ability to pay” as a cardinal principle of collective bargaining agreement.

The source said ASUU agreed with the government’s offer of N30 billion as earned allowances but said the amount should be for only lecturers.

However, the federal government rejected ASUU’s demand to be given the N30 billion for lecturers alone, saying that all other unions in the university system should also receive payment from the money.

On revitalisation fund, a source privy to the meeting said: “The federal government is not ready to accede to ASUU’s demand for N110 billion now because it was part of the 2013 agreement that is now being renegotiated. That was why the government is offering things of good faith, like the payment of earned allowance pending when the committee saddled with the responsibility of identifying other alternative sources of funding concludes their work.”

For the two issues, ASUU team was asked to go and consult more with the union members and come back today for further deliberation.

On the implementation of the IPPIS, which almost stalled the meeting, the federal government said IPPIS should be allowed to operate in the interim until the test-run on UTAS is concluded.

But ASUU wanted payment of outstanding salaries on old GIFMIS platform before the implementation of UTAS.

SamXcoded234:
I'm 100% sure these guys are having an orgy instead of deliberating on the issues at hand. Imagine Spending more than six hours discussing what? If not to exchange pussy.
Whenever they have satisfied their cocks and are ready to call of the strike I'll be ready to resume.

FG, ASUU Resume Negotiations Today

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo

The federal government negotiating team led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, will meet with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) today in a bid to end the over six months strike by the university lecturers.

A statement signed issued yesterday by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations at the ministry, Mr. Charles Akpan said “Ngige will be hosting a meeting with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday, October 15, 2020”.

ASUU had called out its members on an indefinite industrial action following their opposition to federal government’s move to enforce the use of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), salary payment platform.

Efforts to convene negotiations so as to resolve the dispute failed due partly to restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, hope that the strike action would soon be resolved emerged on Tuesday when ASUU was summoned to a meeting by the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan along with Ngige.

The meeting, chaired by Lawan, also had in attendance, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris and the ASUU leadership led by the President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi.

Addressing journalists after about the three-hour closed session, Ngige had said, “ASUU has demonstrated to us, how the UTAS they developed could work but the demonstration will continue.

“We will involve other government agencies who would also come and assess it. Discussions on it are not foreclosed yet.

“UTAS is a homegrown software. It is what we call local content that Mr President is encouraging. It will be considered by the government,” Ngige added.

ASUU had rejected the IPPIS as it embarked on an indefinite strike on February.

The Senate President, Lawan, told the meeting that the current impasse between ASUU and the federal government was an ill-wind that would not do any of the two parties any good.

The Senate President asked the two parties to find a middle ground to resolve their differences.

ClassicMan202:
What is your own proof that it is less than 100,000??

Agbegbaorogboye:
Same way it could have been 3.599 before it became 3.499 by your estimation don't you think?

ClassicMan202:
Your dullness is just like your oga at the top...

3.5 million minus 100,000 is 3.499 abi??

Sunnyja:
School fees wasted for nothing.

ClassicMan202:
Your dullness is just like your oga at the top...

3.5 million minus 100,000 is 3.499 abi??

NNU0000:
Yusuf=north/hausa , Adebayo=west/yoruba , Madu=east/igbo. Oya ethnic bigots and tribalistic modafuqas,what do you have to say