After months of inordinate delays in the payment of salaries, the non-teaching staff of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) in Anambra State have expressed their displeasure about the management’s indifference to staff’s welfare.
The staff have consequently issued an ultimatum up to Wednesday 14th August, 2019, after which they will embark on an indefinite strike if the university
management fail to meet their demands.
Acting under the umbrella of National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Joint Action Committee of Trade Unions (JAC), the workers claim that the university owes them over N4.6 billion.
While submitting the August 14 deadline in the JAC-COOU Bulletin, the aggrieved staff stated that the Governing Council and University Management have been notified of the industrial action.
In the strike notice jointly signed by the JAC leader/Chairman, NAAT-COO; Comrade A.C. Okeke, Chairman, NASU-COOU, Comrade F.O. Nwaibe and Chairman, SSANU-COOU, Comrade Oddih Obiora, it was stated that all avenues possible to avoid an industrial action had been explored, but the school management remain adamant.
“As we prepare to close down the university, the staff unions in the university have pleaded, dialogued and signed various agreements/MOUs with the Governing Council. We have also brought all our demands to the university management and Governing Council of the university and frowned at the various issues.”
“Remember that in our usual way of ‘understanding the financial predicaments’ of the university, we shelved our intended strike earlier scheduled for 15th May, 2019, (as in Bulletin No. 1).
“This was to pave way for proper negotiations with the university authorities but nothing has come out from those negotiations as our conditions of service keep worsening”
