The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 21-day notice to the Federal Government to commence a nationwide strike.
The union gave the strike notice in a letter addressed to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and Ministry of Education in Abuja.
ASUU last embarked on an industrial action which lasted a little over 8 months and resulted in the disruptions of the academic calendar of tertiary institutions during the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
A source within hierarchy of ASUU’s leadership confirmed the development to newsmen on Monday and added that the notice was issued after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Ibadan. He said that a formal copy is expected to be sent to the Federal Ministries of Labour and Education.
“This is not an ultimatum but a formal strike notice. We are providing a 21-day notice before we proceed with the strike,” said the source.
According to the laws governing trade union operations, ASUU is expected to forward a formal notice of strike not less than 21 days to its commencement date.
Earlier, ASUU had threatened to embark on a strike due to the federal government’s failure to implement agreements reached between them when the previous strike was halted.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had met with ASUU o June 26, to discuss their grievances and try to prevent the planned strike.
However ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said that the agreements reached during the meeting have not been implemented.
Some of the demands made by ASUU include, the non-implementation of the 2009 re-negotiated agreements, and accumulated academic allowances that remain unpaid.
Osodeke reiterated that revitalisation funds were yet to be released in full, adding that only a paltry sum out of the agreed N200 billion yearly for five years was disbursed to the institutions since 2013.
