The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other workers’ unions at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, (LAUTECH) have rejected the resolve by the school’s Governing Council to pay workers only one month’s salary out of the 12 months being owed.
The Chairman of the Joint Action Committee of the university, Alhaji Muraina Alesinloye, who led workers to the meeting held between the JAC and the Governing Council, said the workers insisted that the university should pay at least three months’ salaries.
The Chairman of the Governing Council of the university, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, who doubles a former Head of Service of the Federation and was represented at the meeting by a member of the council, Prof. Olaide Adedokun, was quoted to have said that the council had approved the payment of one month salary to all workers through cheques.
Alesinloye said the JAC, which comprised the Senior Staff Union of Universities, the Non-Academic Staff Union and National Association of Academic Technicians, also said their members would not collect their salaries via cheques.
He said, “The Governing Council held a meeting with us today Monday and Prof. Adedokun, who represented the Chairman of the Council, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, said the council had agreed to pay us one month’s salary now and pay another month on October 20 and pay the third month before the end of October.“But we said no. They are owing us 12 months’ salaries and the people, who have been selling things to us on credit, are now insisting that we should pay what we are owing because government had paid us six months’ salaries.”In September, the management of LAUTECH had directed the lecturers, workers and the students of the university to resume after over eight months’ forced holiday.
After the directive, the workers’ unions in the university said they were not aware of the resumption of the institution, which was then scheduled for Friday, September 15, and as such would not obey the directive of the university authorities.