The Federal Government has insisted that members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, will not be paid for the period they were on strike.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in an interaction with State House correspondents in Abuja, noting that it was in line with the policy of ‘No work, no pay’.
Recall that ASUU had suspended its eight-month-old strike in October following an order of the Court of Appeal which upheld a ruling of the National Industrial Court asking the lecturers to return to the classroom.
However, following the suspension of the strike, the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration paid ASUU members half salaries for the month of October while holding on to its resolve not to pay the arrears of salaries incurred while the university teachers were on strike.
Reacting to the development, ASUU had organised a nationwide protest.
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But Adamu on Wednesday said the stance of the Federal government was that the varsity teachers “would not be paid for work not done.”
The Education minister also responded to an accusation by Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the President of ASUU, that paying lecturers on pro-rata basis was an orchestrated plan to make lecturers casual workers.
Adamu in his reaction said, “Nobody can make university lecturers casual workers.”
Responding to an inquiry that ASUU was threatening to embark on a one-day protest against government’s insistence on no work, n pay, the Minister said he was not in the know of such planned action.
Source: Punch