ABU lecturers protest half salary, threaten to boycott work

The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has protested over the federal government’s ‘no work, no pay’ policy.

TheCable had reported how lecturers belonging to ASUU were paid “half” of one month salary after the union’s eight-month strike ended.

ASUU had condemned the move and accused the government of trying to treat lecturers as causal workers by paying them on a pro-rata basis.

The union also demanded payment of its members’ withheld salaries for the period the strike lasted.

But reacting, the federal government justified its action and said the lecturers would not be paid for work not done.

The government also explained that the lecturers were paid based on the number of days they worked in the stated month.

Rankled by the development, members of various chapters of the union agreed to hold one-day protest to demand payment of their salaries.

On Tuesday, lecturers at ABU joined the protest.

According to NAN, the protest started at the Samaru campus of the institution and ended at the Mamman Kontagora Square.

The aggrieved lecturers carried placards with inscriptions such as “respect the principles of collective bargain”, “we say no to casualisation of intellectual labour’”, and “ASUU is a protector of Public Institutions”.

Addressing journalists during the protest, Hussaini Abdullahi, ABU’s ASUU secretary, said the protest was to express displeasure over the decision of the government to pay October salary on a pro-rata basis.

He said the union’s members at the varsity have resolved to abandon the backlog of academic activities if their demands are not met.

“We don’t know why the government took such a decision but to our knowledge such decisions violate the rules of engagement for academics,” he said.

“We have convened a special congress and rally; the congress resolved that we would abandon the backlog of academic activities if the government refuses to pay the seven months withheld salaries.

“This is the position of the chapter and it will be forwarded to the National Executive Council (NEC) for consideration.”

He also said the union is considering cancellation of the session, adding that its resolutions would be forwarded to the national executive council (NEC) of ASUU for deliberation.

Abdullahi described the pro-rata salary as a crass mischief by the government and its agents towards cajoling the union to reconsider its stance.

The University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) are among varsities that have held the one-day protest so far.