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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The trouble brewing at the nation’s tertiary institutions may yet be over as as the National Association Of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has commenced a two week industrial action demanding for better condition of service.
Already ASUU across the country are on two months strike demanding for the implementation of 1992 agreement signed between federal government and the union.
Speaking with journalists after its emergency congress held at the physics laboratory of the University of Calabar on Monday, the University of Calabar chapter chairman and South-south zonal coordinator, Comrade Alexander Oko, said the strike is expedient because the federal government has failed to meet a number of their demands.
He listed the demands to include, “non-full implementation of the 2009 FGN/NAAT Agreement, delay in renegotiation of FGN/NAAT Agreement, non-payment of arrears of National Minimum wage.
“The refusal to release the enabling circular for the implementation of CONTISS 14 & 15 for academic Technologists as contained in the MOU of 2017, 2020 and 2021.
“Non payment of Earned Allowances (EA) for members specifically as agreed in the MOU of 2021 that subsequent release of EA shall be union based and subsequent sharing shall be based in template generated from signed agreement each union and not number of persons in each union as personnel cost”, he listed.
Others he said include the non release of of adequate laboratories/workshop/studios in Nigerian universities.
He lamented that twelve years after signing agreements with NAAT, many components of the agreement are either partially or not implemented.
The branch chairman also faulted the government on the non-conclusion of ongoing renegotiation of FGN/NAAT 2009 agreement that has been ongoing for more than two years.
He said this smacks of insensitivity and provocation on the part of government as it has concluded negotiations with a sister union.
According to him, “if government fails to address it’s demands, NAAT may be compelled to embark on an industrial action which shall be total and indefinite.”
