The eight month strike embarked upon by academics in the country could end soon, as the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) reportedly reached an agreement on Friday over the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
The government was reported to have agreed to exempting ASUU from IPPIS and the university lecturers are expected to develop their own payment platform, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which will replace IPPIS.
Government also agreed to ASUU’s demand to pay their members’ salary arrears from February to June through the old salary payment platform – the Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System.
After weeks of negotiations and foot-dragging, government offered to raise the Earned Academic Allowances to university staff from N30bn to N35bn and the revitalisation fund from N20bn to N25bn. Cumulatively, the government, through the Accountant -General of the Federation, offered the lectures N65 billion to call off their eight-month old strike.
Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige, who read out the communique at the end of a seven-hour negotiation with ASUU members in Abuja, said the funds would be shared by all the registered trade unions in the universities after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.
He said “Responding to the demand for immediate payment of 50% of the initial amount allotted for the purpose (revitalisation) which translates to N110 billion, the FG stated that this is not possible because of paucity of funds.
“The government, however, offered to pay N25 billion based on the Memorandum of Action (MoA) of 7th February, 2019 signed with ASUU or in the alternative, urged ASUU to accept N30 billion with the reduction in the earlier Earned Allowances.
“The Accountant-General of the Federation offered to immediately release N40 billion or in the alternative N35 billion to be shared by all the registered Trade Unions in the universities after providing the necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.”
