New Telegraph

FG seeks fusion of ASUU, SSANU, NASU

…as unions develop UG3PS as alternative to IPPIS

 

The Federal Government has said it was necessary to have  all unions in the university system under a single entity, to enable academic growth and allow the Nigerian University System (NUS) match up to their peers abroad.

 

The existing unions are: Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).

 

Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, who made this known at the 2nd Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of SSANU, yesterday, in Abuja, said talks had begun to convince leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to make the various unions see reasons why they should come under one umbrella.

 

While stressing the need for the various unions to enter into negotiations with the government with one accord rather than through a segmented approach, he said having each of the unions come up with their individual demands to the Federal Government was constituting bottlenecks for government to accede to their demands.

 

He further raised concerns over the inability of government and the individual unions to arrive at better welfare packages for their members which he lamented, was always at the detriment of the students.

 

His words: “No university in the world can operate effectively in isolation. It is frustrating that the university system in Nigeria have been polarized by various unions, you have NAAT, ASUU, SSANU all negotiating for different things.

 

“Most times, while one group is negotiating with government, others are warming up for strike unless their demands are met.” Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU has developed the University General and Peculiar Personnel and Payrol1 System (UG3PS), as an alternative salary payment platform solution to IPPIS, with all the characteristics of ensuring probity and efficiency in salary payments in the university system.

 

Outgoing President of SSANU, Chijioke Ugwoke, explained that the UG3PS captures the peculiarities of all categories of staff, teaching and non-teaching, a strength which IPPIS does not have and which has been its bane all along.

 

“We wish to inform the general public that the UG3PS is ready and awaiting presentation and test run to the Federal Government with the conviction that IPPIS of any alternative being suggested by any group either within or outside the system, cannot be as efficient as that being presented by the two non-teaching staff union members of whose primary functions include personnel issues and salary payments.

 

“We say confidently and without prejudice, that no group can understand the intricacies, challenges and manoeuvrings of salary payments as much as SSANU and NASU in the university system and we have applied this knowledge which is a function of our primary duties in the development of the UG3PS solution,” Ugwoke said.

 

He further criticized both federal and state governments for their consistent failures in honouring and implementing the various agreements entered into with the union with regards to members’ welfare, despite several strikes embarked upon to that regard.

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