The Academic Staff Union Of Universities, University of Lagos Branch, has stated that the members of the association cannot be treated as casual workers.
According to The PUNCH, Chairman, ASUU UNILAG, Dr Dele Ashiru, said a protest rally, titled, ‘The casualisation of intellectualism in Nigeria,’ will hold today at the Lagos Campus.
He stated that the purpose of the protest rally will be to inform Nigerians about the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige’s position on the crisis.
It was also learned that all universities that are members of ASUU would hold their protest rallies on different dates.
Meanwhile, ASUU issued a statement last week condemning the Federal Government’s attempt to reduce it to casual workers as a result of the half-pay it received after calling off its strike in October.
The statement titled, ‘We are intellectuals, not casual workers, read, “The action of the Union was a display of manifest trust in the judiciary and other institutions and organs of government to always put national interest above all other considerations. This we believe as a union of thinkers, intellectuals, and patriots.
“Unfortunately, the response of government towards ASUU’s demonstration of trust was the so-called ‘pro-rata’ payment for eighteen days as the October 2022 salaries of academics thereby portraying them as daily paid workers! This is not only an aberration but a contravention of all known rules of engagement in any contract of employment for academics the world over.
“At an emergency meeting of the ASUU’s National Executive Committee, held on Monday, 7th November, 2022, the Union deliberated on developments since the suspension of the strike. NEC noted with dismay that paying academics on a “pro-rata” basis, like casual workers, is unprecedented in the history of university-oriented labour relations and therefore condemned this attempt to reduce Nigerian scholars to casual workers in its entirety.”
