Top University Workers Begin Strike Over Unpaid Salaries, Students’ Exams Suspended

Top University Workers Begin Strike Over Unpaid Salaries, Students’ Exams Suspended

Academic activities have been put to a stop at the Taraba State University by the state chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The truncation of academic activities in the institution follows a declaration by the leadership of the chapters’ union that also suspended all examinations in the university.

ASUU on Thursday, announced that the congress after a meeting at the institution’s premises in Jalingo decided to bring activities including the ongoing second-semester examinations in the university to a halt.

Garba Mbave, the chairperson of the chapter said there were a litany of grievances held by the union against the government.

Some of the unresolved grievances, Mbave listed include unpaid salaries, the absence of a functional pension scheme, outstanding salary arrears from the 2022 nationwide ASUU strike, and the lack of a governing council for the university.

Others are the non-implementation of the national minimum wage for all staff of the university, the non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances, and the government’s failure to approve a 35 percent increase in salary for professors and proportional adjustments for other academic staff.

Also Read: University Workers, ASUU Joins Nationwide Strike Declared By NLC, TUC

Noting that all avenues have been exploited to to make the government live up to its expectation, Mbave said, “We have made repeated attempts to resolve these issues through negotiation, but the government’s persistent neglect of our welfare has left us no choice but to take this step. Staff members cannot continue to work under these conditions.”

“It is not our intention to disrupt examinations or leave students stranded, but this strike is the only viable option left to demand justice for our members,” Mbave added.