A/Ibom college lecturers protest non-payment of salaries

Labor unions in Akwa Ibom State College of Education, Afaha Nsit on September 14 commenced a strike action after failing to reach agreement with the government over a number of their demands.

Among the demands was the reinstatement of six lecturers dismissed from work in 2005 after a students’ violent demonstration. The affected staff were said to have been denied salaries and other allowances for 13 years.

It was learnt that two of the affected staff members have lost two of their children because of their inability to pay for their medical bills within the period.

One of the officials, Mr Effiong Thompson, explained in Uyo, that they were unjustly sacked because the allegation leveled against them about involvement in the said students’ crisis was incorrect.

He said Governor Udom Emmanuel had in 2016 directed the authorities to reabsorb them into the public service after a court injunction stopped the government from punishing them unduly for an offence they did not commit.

Thompson explained that their names, which were removed from the payment voucher of the institution, were restored and that they received payment slips without a salary.

“There was a students’ crisis in 2005 but which became a staff crisis as the students were not indicted. Because of second term bid, some lecturers were roped into the issue. Nobody invited us for any questioning but at the end of the day, we were said to have been found culpable. We ran around trying to prove our innocence but nobody wanted to listen.

“We went to court and an injunction as given. Immediately the injunction was given, it was obeyed and our names, which were removed from the voucher were reinstated. We have the pay slips but up till today we have not been paid our salaries. From 2005 till 2013 when they stopped the biometric capturing, the money was still running in this college.

“Eventually, after pleading, the governor had to bring us back in 2016. When we came back, even when the provost wrote that we should be captured, the office of the Head of Service refused to capture us. We have not collected salary but we are still working.

“We took part in the accreditation, started lecturing and ended the accreditation. After two years, the HOS said we did not come in properly and that we should go and obey the punishment that was given in 2005, that was squashed by the court.

“Two of us have lost children because of this incident because we couldn’t raise money to pay their medical bills,” he said.

The unions, comprising the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) embarked on an indefinite strike on September 14, 2018 after a 14-day ultimatum it gave the management of the institution and the state government.

The unions listed 14 grievances including undue delay in payment of promotion arrears of 2013, 2014 and the promotion variation of 2012 by government; undue delay in implementation of 2016 and 2017 promotions to affected staff creating avenue of arrears that will drag without payment for years; undue and sustained illegal cut in salaries of staff which has defied solution since 2014; and nonrefund of 7.5 percent contributory pension funds in the college to beneficiaries by government.

Others are continued deprivation of six re-instated staff of their salaries and other entitlements despite their resumption since March, 2016; nonimplementation of CONTEDISS to one non-teaching staff who had been re-instated by the state government; and non-payment of half salaries to six amnesty staff of the college since there are clear evidence of their half salaries is with the college.

Also on the list of demands are undue delay in the submission of papers to external assessors for promotion of principal lecturers since 2017; nonpayment of part-time and casual workers for the past five months and intention to withdraw their services; lack of monitoring committees for the supervision of TETFUND projects on campus; irregularities in payment of newly employed staff without peculiar and other allowances; nonpayment of teaching practice allowance for 2017/2018 supervision; nonimplementation of 65-year retirement age for non-teaching staff of the college; and non-payment of shifting/overtime allowances to deserving drivers/security officers.

Mr. Paulius Akpan, Chairman of NASU, complained among other things that the 7.5 percent contributory pension funds implemented nationwide by other colleges of education was not implemented in the college as the money was not remitted to the coffers of government.

He said the management of the college never wrote to the government that they had some staff members who were on suspension, rather they continued to collect their full salaries but paid the persons concerned half salaries.

He added that having been exonerated, the remaining half salaries ought to have been paid to those involved but that the management was claiming there was no money.

When Daily Trust contacted the Provost, Prof. Matthew Ekpo, on the issue, he said though the management was not happy with the decision of the unions to embark on strike, it was working with the state government to resolve the issues.

He said, “I have been meeting with the Commissioner of Education and the Head of Service, so the management has been working with them to resolve it. The suspension of some staff members is not a recent thing, it happened about three years ago, and I am provost in the college for about one and a half years.

“They were suspended in 2005 and recalled in 2015, and we are looking into it to ascertain who was there and how the money was spent.”