FG drags ASUU to court, says negotiation not yielding results

BY Deborah Onatunde

The Federal Government has filed a suit against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) following the inability to resolve the ongoing strike embarked upon by the university lecturers despite efforts at negotiation.

A legitimate source at the Federal Ministry of Labour told a national newspaper last Friday that the ministry’s Trade Dispute Department has filed a case before the Industrial Arbitration Court in Abuja.

According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the hearing would commence this week.

The source stated, “The federal government has filed a case at the Industrial Court challenging the continued strike by the university teachers. This conforms with Section 17 of the Trade Dispute Act.”

Recall that ASUU has been on strike since February 14th to press home its numerous demands to the Federal Government.

Some of the union’s demands include payment of earned allowances and salaries for lecturers, improved funding and maintenance for tertiary institutions, the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability system (UTAS) for salary payment instead of the government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and the renegotiation of the ASUU FG 2009 agreement, among others.

Moreover, after conversations between the government and the union last Tuesday at the National University Commission (NUC)’s office IN Abuja, things got heated up, leading to no agreement.

The Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, had stated that it would not sign any other agreement it cannot implement.