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Nigerian govt to resolve dispute with ASUU soon – Ngige

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The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said on Wednesday the dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would be resolved soon.

ASUU embarked on a 30-day warning strike on February 14 over the federal government’s failure to honour the agreement signed by both parties.

The union had extended the strike twice since that period.

Ngige, who addressed State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, said the government would soon resolve issues causing the strike.

He added that the disputes on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS and University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) would be addressed in the next meeting between the parties slated for Thursday.

The minister said: “It will be resolved very soon. As the issue is bordered on money, remunerations, welfare, we did another conciliation meeting inviting the ministry of finance, budget office of the federation, National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and again, with their employers on the 1st of March.

READ ALSO: Poverty cause of child labour in Africa – Ngige

“After that, it became clear that two cardinal things were still keen — the issue of renegotiation of their welfare package as in the 2009 agreement; that agreement says you can review every five years, so, that issue stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Then another issue arose in that agreement — the payment platform of university transparency, accountability solution, which they say they’ve invented. They said they don’t want to be on IPPIS; that IPPIS was amputating their salaries and taking off certain allowances, and so, that it is not capturing their peculiarities.

“So, we now have to ask them to go back to these places, form committees with them. Education took them on the issue of 2009 agreement, which is renegotiation of their conditions of service, emolument, their remuneration allowances. Therefore, salaries, income and wages, and the ministry of finance that produce the money are involved. So, they went back.”

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