The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has shelved their planned strike action. ASUU President Biodun Ogunyemi who disclosed on Thursday, October 31, said the proposed industrial action was shelved following a plea by the Senate.
The union earlier planned to go on strike over the federal government’s insistence on lecturers’ enrolment in the Integrated Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
The Federal Government had given all ministries, departments and agencies the October deadline to enrol in the IPPIS.
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The ASUU president said: “The Senate has intervened into the matter and we’re engaging the Senate. “The Senate has appealed to us for now. When they pay other workers, they pay them also.”
Earlier, The Herald reported that top ranking members of the ASUU are set to meet Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker, House of Representatives behind closed doors today.
The purpose of the meeting is to negotiate the Federal government ‘s directive concerning the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari while presenting the 2020 Budget to National Assembly on the 8th of October, 2019, issued a directive mandating all Public Sector Workers to register for IPPIS in order to block all the leakages in salary payment structure, thereby waging a war against corruption.
ASUU was not happy with the directive as they kicked vehemently against this new policy. They see the IPPIS payment structure as a threat to Autonomy, the law governing universities.
Zainab Ahmed, Minister of if Finance, Budget and National Planning had on Thursday, instructed all government agencies to abide by the new IPPIS payment policy.