Exclusive: Osun Striking Lecturers Dissociate Themselves From July 14 Resumption Date

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Sunday, July 13th, 2014

Oyewale Oyelola

The Coalition of Academic Staff Unions of Osun Stated Owned Tertiary Institutions (CASUOSTI) has dissociated the union from the proposed July 14, 2014 resumption date for four affected higher institutions in Osun state.

The schools have been closed for 4 months now due to strike action.

Chairman, Coalition of Academic Staff Unions of Osun Stated Owned Tertiary Institutions (CASUOSTI), Comrade Jimoh Lasisi Ayinla made this known in a phone chat with African Examiner online correspondent.

Comrade Lasisi said the state government is not showing commitment to resolve the issues that led to the ongoing strike.

He added that the Osun state government is yet to fulfill agreements reached with the CASUOSTI at the last meeting with Governor Aregbesola in first week of July.

His words: “The state government are not showing enough commitment to resolve the ongoing strike.

“Government promised to pay our outstanding salaries by last Tuesday but our members are yet to receive credit alert.

“On elongation of retirement age from 60-65 years, Ogbeni Aregbesola promised to sign the document and forward it to Ministry of Education to put it in government gazette. Till now it has not been done and we also demanded for circular to various institution to back it up.

“The governor gave us assurance that our 14 months pension deduction are intact and promised to remit our part of the contribution to our PFAs, while government will remit their part of pension contributions within 24 months.

“I think we have been reasonable with our negotiation by compromising our stand on some issues, government to fulfill their promises to enable us return to lecture halls. For now, the lecturers are still on strike but we are aware that non-academic staff will resume on Monday.”

The four affected Osun state owned tertiary Institutions are; Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Osun State College of Technology, Esa-oke, College of Education, Ila-orangun and Ilesa.