Barring any last-minute change, the Academic Staff Union of Universities is set to accept the pay rise proposed by the Federal Government, according to a document signed by ASUU President Chris Piwuna and obtained in Abuja on Monday.

The PUNCH had exclusively reported that the government proposed a 40 per cent pay increase to the union during negotiations with the Yayale Ahmed-led committee in Abuja.

ASUU’s decision to accept the offer, the document shows, was driven by the government’s refusal to shift ground and the union’s concern over prolonged stagnation of earnings caused by years of stalled negotiations.

Both sides also agreed to a three-year review of the agreement.

Sources familiar with the meeting told The PUNCH that while both parties acknowledged the need for full university autonomy, the government agreed to peg earned academic allowances at 12 per cent of each university’s appropriated academic staff salaries and wages.

 This implies that for every annual budget covering academic salaries and wages, each university will receive an additional 12 per cent specifically for earned academic allowances.

The latest round of negotiations began on Monday, November 24, and ended on Tuesday, November 25.

The meeting was part of the government’s last-minute efforts to avert a full-blown strike after ASUU’s one-month ultimatum expired.

However, ASUU’s branch leaders must still communicate NEC’s position to members before the union formally writes to the Federal Government to prepare for the signing of a new agreement.

In the document, Piwuna noted: “Government made several offers which were considered grossly inadequate and were accordingly rejected. After much push by our negotiators, a salary structure plus or minus the Nimi Briggs Committee’s recommendation was offered. The table shows that some cadres had a slightly higher salary than the Nimi Briggs recommendation, while others were slightly lower. NEC considered the offer and proposed that it was in our best interest to accept it, as continued rejection would result in stagnation of our earnings over a protracted period of negotiation.”Related News

He also highlighted the agreement on earned allowances: “It was agreed that the annual cost of implementing the Earned Allowance for Academics shall be the equivalent of 12 per cent of the appropriated academic staff salaries and wages of each university, as already implemented in some state universities. This should be made available through budgetary allocations to the universities.”

On the state of university autonomy, the document stated: “It was agreed that universities shall be allowed to operate in accordance with their enabling laws, statutes and regulations and in conformity with due process and within the laws of the land. Both the government and the universities shall comply with and abide by the extant laws and regulations that apply to the university system.”

Regarding the review of agreements, it read: “A comprehensive review of the agreements shall be undertaken every three years.”

The document further addressed sustainable funding: “It was agreed that the FGN and ASUU would sponsor Bills on new and innovative forms of taxes to guarantee sustainable funding of education. It was further agreed that the FGN will issue executive orders towards achieving the same purpose.”

On general salary increments and protection for lecturers, it noted: “It was agreed that whenever there is a general increase in public salaries and allowances, the remuneration of academic staff shall be correspondingly increased. It was agreed that nobody shall be victimised in any way whatsoever for his/her role in the process leading to this re-negotiation and agreement.”

On appointments, the document said: “It was agreed that the appointment of Governing Council members should continue to be in line with the Universities (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Act 2003 and the Laws of the universities. It was agreed that the powers of the Council shall be exercised, as in the Law and Statutes of each University and to this extent establishment circulars that are inconsistent with the Laws and Statutes of the University shall not apply to the Universities. It was agreed that the appointment of Vice-Chancellors shall be strictly on merit. It was further agreed that the emerging tendencies of insisting that indigenes of host communities of universities must emerge as Vice-Chancellors negate the principle of selecting and appointing candidates based on merit and therefore should be prohibited.”

ASUU’s one-month ultimatum to the Federal Government ended last week Saturday, leading to heightened tension within Nigerian public universities. The union had threatened a nationwide strike over what it described as the government’s “non-chalant” attitude toward its demands, which include the review of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement, payment of outstanding salaries and earned allowances, and the disbursement of the university revitalisation fund.

The Minister of Education Dr. Tunji Alausa, who is currently out of the country, had said that the government has met the union’s demands.

Speaking to State House correspondents two weeks ago, he reiterated the president’s directive that there should be no strike in public universities, adding: “As I told you, the President has mandated us that he doesn’t want ASUU to go on strike, and we’re doing everything humanly possible to ensure that our students stay in school. The last strike they went on for about six days was not really needed. We’re talking to them. We’ve met literally all their requirements. Now we’ve gone back to the negotiation table. We’re talking as I spoke to the leadership this morning. We will resolve this. And part of my visit today (yesterday) here is to also explain where we are with the ASUU strike to Mr. President and to extract more concessions from Mr. President.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress, the umbrella body of labour unions in the country, has expressed support for ASUU and vowed to intervene if the government fails to meet the union’s expectations.

Source: Punch Newspaper