The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has threatened to resume her suspended industrial action any moment, should the agreement reached with government that lead to the suspension of the strike in December 2018 is not implemented.
President of the union, Comrade Nuhu Ogirima in a letter addressed to the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, dated April 4th, 2019, the union vowed to seek redress over the matter.
The union in December 5th suspended her industrial action , having accepted FG’s offer to release the sum of fifteen billion (N15bn) as palliative intervention to cushion the effects of the decay in the infrastructure in public colleges of education.
Comrade Ogirima lamented that four months after the agreement, the status of the issues remain unchanged.
He said the Union would be hesitant in making the presumption of the current FG administration’s non-commitment to education, teacher-education in particular, considering the prevailing situation as well as the proposed paltry allocation to the college of education sub-sector.
The union leader added that as the core teacher-education provider, it would be instructive to state that the Union would need not remind FG that it reserves the right to seek redress, howsoever, on the persistent insensitivity to the plight of colleges of education.
The letter reads in parts “This, along with the other resolutions reached at the meeting of the Rapid Response Team, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, on the payment of Peculiar Academic Allowance (PAA); Dual Mode; implementation of CONTISS 15 on lower cadre; stalled renegotiation of 2010 COEASU-FGN Agreement; among others, informed the decision of the Union at the time.
“The concern of the Union is being further heightened by the fact of the refusal of other departments of FG in fulfilling the much-awaited obligation on their parts. Of particular note are:
“The Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) for the non-issuance of an awaited circular on a new cadre purportedly created to cater for HND, relating to migration;
“The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) which has refused to remit to the Union check-off dues deducted from the arrears accruing from the promotion of academic staff paid between January and December, 2018; and The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)’s sustained bias against the colleges of education; among others.
Considering the implication of the apprehension being generated in the colleges of education as a result of the aforementioned instances, which are evidently indicative of the refusal of FG to fulfill her commitment, the Union might be compelled to take appropriate necessary labour action to seek redress if the situation is not arrested immediately”.
