No Work, No Pay ‘ll Create More Damage To The System, Vice Chancellors Appeal To Govt

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria Thursday, September 8th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The Committee of Vice Chancellors (CVC) of Federal Universities has appealed to the Nigerian government to rethink its decision on its strict adherence to the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy over the lingering conflicts with the university workers’ unions.

The body said the policy may cause more damage than good to the universities.

The Nigerian government has vowed not to pay the university workers for the duration their strike lasted, saying the decision is in compliance with the labour laws.

But the workers’ unions, and particularly the Academic Staff (ASUU), have described the policy as unfair and unjust.

ASUU said teaching is the simplest task of its members, saying it only constitutes about 10 per cent of promotion criteria. The union said while on strike, its members still work on research and community development projects.

The vice-chancellors said the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy would create more damage to the system and leave students bearing the brunt of the dispute.

The CVC also cautioned the government against a forceful reopening of universities, saying it would be counterproductive.

This is contained in a communique released by the Chairperson of the vice-chancellors’ committee, Sulayman Abdulkareem, a professor and Vice-Chancellor, University of Ilorin, after an emergency meeting of the committee on Tuesday.

The committee had convened an emergency meeting after a meeting with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, and the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abubakar Abdulrasheed, on the same day.

The communique reads in part; “The position of the Government on this item (No Work, No Pay) will create more damage to the system because the students would bear the brunt of ASUU’s response.

“Universities, because of the peculiar nature of their operations, must cover the scheme of work as provided by the curriculum.

“CVC appeals to the Federal Government to reconsider its stand and pay the withheld salaries on compassionate grounds, and especially in the interest of Nigerian students. Government’s acceptance of this appeal would no doubt facilitate a quick resolution of the impasse.”

The vice-chancellors noted that the universities were formally shut down and “the power to open or shut down a university is vested only in the Senate of each university.”

It said: “Any attempt to keep students on campus without their being fully engaged in academic and other activities may have disastrous consequences.”

They also appealed to the government to provide special reopening grants for the universities to renovate rusty facilities as a result of their abandonment for the duration of the strike that has lasted up to seven months.

“Many special equipment especially in our laboratories will need to be recalibrated, physical facilities need to be renovated and electricity and water bills are outstanding. Given that many of us have not received their overheads, the Government will need to support the universities with special grants for re-opening,” it added.

The vice-chancellors, who emphasised the need for the upward review of academics’ salary, noted that the current template by the Income, Salaries and Wages Commission and the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) have “depleted the salaries of academics and vice-chancellors to an all- time low.”

It, therefore, recommended that the government revisits the recommendations in the Nimi Briggs-led committee’s report “as their figures represent a better offer that will stem the tide of unrest in the Universities.”