The face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government over the payment of half salaries to the Varsity lecturers, may have assumed another dimension, as Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, insists that the ‘no work no pay’ policy was being applied.
Adamu spoke to State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said the Federal Government cannot pay for work not done, directly justifying the pro rata payment effected by the government to ASUU members recently
Responding to a question on the insistence of lecturers to embark on a work-free-days in protest of the federal government’s decision to pay its members pro-rata for the month of October, accusing the government of attempting to turn university lecturers into ‘casual workers’, the minister said the government has paid what was due to the university teachers.
He said, “The strike has been called off and the government has paid them what is due to them. I think that’s the position of the government; that it is not going to pay anyone for work not done and they only did, I think, the number of days that they were paid.
“How can anybody make a university lecturer a casual worker? Do you know the meaning of casual worker? If you know the meaning of casual worker, it is impossible to make a university lecturer a casual worker.”
Asked if the federal government would be willing to take steps to assuage ASUU members and stave off further hostilities, the Minister said: “I don’t understand, is there any problem now?”
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Told the Union planned work-free days, he said: “Oh? Okay, I’m not aware. I’m not aware. That they are going on strike? No, nobody has told me.
“So let’s wait till the work-free day comes, then I’ll find out the details and we’ll discuss, you can ask me then, but at the moment, I’m telling you honestly I do not know that there is a problem.”
Asked to shed light on the claim by the President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodoke, that the union only had an agreement with the Minister of Education and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, not with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Adamu said, “I cannot add any light on something that I did not know.
“And since they said they have no business with the Minister of… Did they show you the agreement? Well, I’m not aware that there’s any agreement between us.”
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