COEASU directs members to work twice a week over petrol price hike

The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has directed its members nationwide to go to work two days weekly due to the hardship caused by the hike in petrol price. 

Smart Olugbeko, its national president, announced this on Wednesday after a meeting involving the leadership of the union.

TheCable had reported that petrol pump price surged to N617 per litre in the federal capital territory (FCT) and N568 a litre in Lagos.

Speaking on this, Olugbeko said several members of the union can no longer cope with the situation due to the government’s refusal to implement the 200 per cent salary increment demanded by COEASU.

“The implementation of removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government two months ago raised the price of a litre of petrol by 250%. This worsened the inflationary rate on the cost of transportation, food and other essential commodities and impoverished the Nigerian people,” he said.

“Workers, including staff of Colleges of Education, kept faith with government and chose to endure the untold hardship thinking it would be only for a while as Government promised to roll out palliative measures including significant increase in salaries. Alas! While our capabilities to sustain hope were already exhausted, the price of petrol rose further to N650 per litre.

“Now, the leadership of the Union has been inundated by members’ complaints that they could no longer go to work as a result of hike in the price of petrol and resultant high cost of transportation.

“Against this backdrop, it has become inevitable for the Union to direct members to go to work only two days weekly while an emergency NEC meeting shall be convened to ratify this decision and decide on the specific days of the week members are to go to work.

“The present salary of staff of Colleges of Education was approved in the year 2010 – 13 years ago! This means we have been on same salary since 2010 while petrol price rose intermittently from N65/N70 in 2010 to N650 in 2023 (tenfold increase). Our salary structure which is subject to renegotiation at 3-year interval has remained static for 13 years, skipping four due renegotiations.

“It is ludicrous that Government has refused to return to the negotiation table on the welfare package for staff after the Union, prior to the removal of fuel subsidy, had proposed 200% increase in salary as against government offer of a ridiculous 35% for Chief Lecturers and 23% for other cadres.

The union called on President Bola Tinubu to address the issue of salary increment to avoid disrupting the academic calendar of colleges of education in the country.

“We call on the FG to urgently do the needful because the inevitable action of the Union against this hardship will have devastating effects on the students as it will lead to a prolonged academic calendar – a semester of 16 weeks will become 32 weeks or more; while Teaching Practice exercise of 6 months will become 12 months,” he added.