Following the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum, the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU has begun a One-Month Warning Strike, today, Tuesday, June 14, over failed agreements with the government.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of its National Executive Council meeting at the Federal College of Education, Technical, Asaba, Delta State, on Friday, and jointly signed by the President, Smart Olugbeko and General Secretary, Ahmed Bazza.
COEASU said it received with utter disappointment, the continued inaction of the government on the lingering issues, despite the union’s lengthy perseverance, and uncommon disposition, towards alternative dispute resolution, and considered it more worrisome, that the Federal Government has failed to reciprocate the patience, which was underpinned by concern, for the plight of the students, and the system, since December 5, 2018, when the last strike was suspended.
Among other things, COEASU is accusing the government of failing to constitute its team, and begin renegotiation of the FGN-COEASU 2010 agreement,
Non-release of N15billion approved, out of the N456Billion revitalization fund, the government’s recalcitrant insistence on IPPIS, against a more reliable alternative of UTAS, created by ASUU, and the refusal to mainstream Demonstration School Staff, in the payroll of the Colleges.
Other demands include; non – implementation of the 2014 Needs Assessment Report in Colleges of Education, Non – payment of outstanding promotion arrears from 2016 to date, Non – payment of Responsibility Allowance to Librarian in Colleges of Education, and Non – payment of the Consequential Adjustment in the Implementation of CONTISS-15, on Lower Cadre since 2018.
The COEASU strike is also due to Poor Funding of Colleges of Education, and poor conditions across state-owned Colleges of Education, especially in Ogun, Kwara, Abia, Kogi, Kaduna, Zamfara, Yobe, Oyo, Benue, Edo and Ebonyi States.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
