The Academic Staff Union of Universities is scheduled to meet with Federal Government representatives on Tuesday over its prolonged strike action.
Speaking on Politics Today, President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke said the meeting was to discuss one of seven issues ASUU is protesting over.
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“That is the issue of renegotiation,” Osodeke said, “the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
“It is not just about wages. It has to do with the system, funding, the structure, the autonomy and other issues; and how to fund universities.
“The government has reduced it to just salaries alone. But if they had looked at the whole agreement and implemented it, we will not be talking about funding.”
Professor Osodeke suggested that if Tuesday’s meeting goes well, the strike action may be called off.
“We are willing to sign,” he said.
It would be recalled that ASUU embarked on a four week warning strike on February 14
The union extended the industrial action by another two months on March 14 to allow the government meet all of its demands. A 12-week extension was announced on May 9.
Demands of the union include but not limited to improved welfare, revitalisation of public universities, academic autonomy, the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) among others
The academics have proposed an alternative payroll system, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
One bone of contention for the academics is the non-payment of university revitalisation funds, which amounts to about N1.1 trillion.