THE Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has given the federal government a 14-day ultimatum to immediately rectify existing discrepancies in the payment of salaries to its members through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) or face a nationwide industrial action from the union.
In a letter entitled; “Re: Declaration of Trade Dispute Against the Accountant-General of The Federation” and signed by its General Secretary, Comrade Prince Peters A. Adeyemi, to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, NASU said contrary to the assurances that the errors will be corrected, many members of the union are still suffering from one form of discrepancy or the other.
“I am directed to refer Your Excellency to the Trade Dispute dated 16th March, 2020 declared by this Union against the Accountant-General of the Federation in respect of the non-payment of salaries to some staff; short payment of salaries to some staff; failure to pay approved allowances as contained in the FGN/NASU Year 2009 Agreements; non-deduction of cooperative and other deductions regarding the salaries of our members in the Federal Universities and Inter-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education,” Comrade Adeyemi wrote.
Adeyemi said IPPIS officials “have refused to effect appropriate corrections of all the anomalies observed by NASU members in the Federal Universities and Inter-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education up to this current moment, i.e. salaries paid to our members in February, March and April, 2020.
“It is unfortunate that IPPIS has only betrayed the leadership of NASU by deceiving us into accepting that the IPPIS platform will take on board all the peculiarities affecting our members and that there will be no problem if we key into the platform. Now we know better,” he said, adding that the promise by the IPPIS to carry out a 3-month “experiment has come out very disastrously and we are unable to allow this very defective and deficient process to continue.”
“In our letters referenced NASU/CD/307/182 dated 7th April, 2020; NASU/CD/307/183 dated 7th April, 2020 and NASU/CD/307/184 dated 7th April, 2020 addressed to the Accountant-General of the Federation and copied to your office, we summarised the complaint of NASU members in the Federal Universities and Inter-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education branch by branch as it relates to the salaries paid to them in the month of February, 2020.
“However, those complaints were not addressed in the payment of March and April, 2020 salaries. In fact, the situation has deteriorated so seriously that NASU members in the affected institutions are completely unhappy and disillusioned.”
IPPIS a Deception
According to Comrade Adeyemi, the leadership of the union is disappointed in the IPPIS because of what he described as deception of the union into believing in the platform. “It is unfortunate that IPPIS has only betrayed the leadership of NASU by deceiving us into accepting that the IPPIS platform will take on board all the peculiarities affecting our members and that there will be no problem if we key into the platform. Now we know better,” he said, adding that the promise by the IPPIS to carry out a 3-month “experiment has come out very disastrously and we are unable to allow this very defective and deficient process to continue.”
14-Day Ultimatum
Comrade Adeyemi further told Dr Ngige: “It is in line with the above that I bring to your notice that NASU, having fulfilled all the statutory requirements, will place all her members in the Federal Universities and Inter-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics and Federal Colleges of Education on a 14-day warning strike effective the date of the resumption of work in all the above mentioned institutions. Thereafter, an indefinite strike will follow if positive action is not taken to remedy the situation.
“We thank Your Excellency for standing solidly with NASU in our quest to ensure justice, equity and fair play on this subject matter.”
The letter was copied to the Minister of Education, the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Executive Secretaries of the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education, as well as Branch Secretaries of NASU in Federal Universities, Inter-University Centres, Federal Polytechnics, Federal Colleges of Education and State Secretaries of NASU across the country.
