Members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Non Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASUEAI), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAATs) in the Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) have all agreed to embark on an indefinite strike.
The planned industrial action which is set to commence tomorrow January 3, 2024 is a follow up of a 14-day ultimatum issued on the State Governor, Mr. Umo Eno on December 20, 2023 which will elapse on 3rd January, 2024.
These four staff unions have had formed a Joint Action Committee (JAC) to help achieve this goal and the chairman of NASU in the institution, Comrade Mefiok Umana, who doubles as secretary of the JAC has maintained that the strike action remains sacrosanct.
Giving reasons for their proposed action, Mr. Mefiok said poor funding which has impinged negatively on academic infrastructure and welfare of workers compelled the protesting workers to agree to down tools until government addressed their grievances.
Lamenting what he described as gross underfunding of the institution and non-commitment to staff welfare as the driving force of the school, Umana expressed anger that while civil servants in the state enjoyed the yuletide, AKSU workers are wallowed in crises in their homes due to lack of government largesse.
“All is not well with us at AKSU. Our workers were in sober mood during Christmas and new year festivities.
“The reasons for this hardship was because the state government refused to implement implement the petrol subsidy removal palliative. No 13-month salary for us AKSU as announced by Governor Umo Eno, and only N2,000 hazard allowance as against the N30,000 for senior workers and N15,000 for junior staff.
“At the moment, there is lack of conducive teaching, learning and research environments. Only two hours (10 – 12 noon), are devoted to running generators to energize the school every day, and no leave allowance due to inadequate subvention,” Mefiok decried.
The staff coalition blamed absence of a properly constituted Governing Council for the School, noting that if such a body were in place, the agitations by the workers’ union would have been well channeled for effective results from government as they called for immediate action on the matter.