The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kaduna State University (KASU) Branch, has announced plans to embark on an indefinite strike starting February 11 due to unresolved welfare concerns.
The union made the announcement in a letter signed by its Chairman, Dr Peter Adamu, and Secretary, Dr Peter Waziri, which was addressed to the national body seeking approval for the action.
The letter, which was obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Tuesday, highlighted the union’s decision to strike as a result of the non-response from the Kaduna State Government regarding their grievances.
The key issues raised by the union include the non-payment of five months’ salaries from May to September 2022, 60 per cent of salaries for September 2017, and other withheld payments for academic staff.
Additionally, there are unresolved concerns over the non-payment of Earned Academic Allowance from 2015 to 2020, and Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) allowances from 2016 to 2023.
The union also pointed to issues such as the remittance of pension funds from 2009 to 2019 and promotion arrears from 2019 to 2023.
Additionally, there has been a failure to pay Group Life Insurance benefits for deceased academic staff from 2020 to the present.
The lecturers recalled that they had met with Gov. Uba Sani on Aug. 17, 2024, to discuss these matters, and the governor had promised to pay the outstanding entitlements.
Following this meeting, the union sent a letter dated Aug. 20, 2024, through the Commissioner for Education, Prof. Mohammed Bello, reminding the governor of the promise to pay the arrears in installments.
In an effort to resolve the issue, the union followed up with another appeal on Oct. 28, 2024, urging for a swift resolution of the welfare concerns.
On Dec. 17, 2024, the governor held another meeting with the management and unions of tertiary institutions, where he announced that payment modalities would begin within three weeks.
However, the union stated in a letter dated Jan. 17, 2025, that in spite of the governor’s assurances, no information regarding the payment modalities had been received by the union, three weeks after the promised timeframe.
“We are writing to remind you that today, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, marks 3 weeks since the meeting was held at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House.
“We are yet to receive any information on the payment modalities as promised by His Excellency,” the letter read.
With no response from the government, the union expressed that it had no option but to proceed with the indefinite strike, in a bid to press for the resolution of these outstanding issues.(NAN)