By Enyichukwu Enemanna
University lecturers under the auspices of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has directed its members nationwide to observe a lecture-free day to ventilate their grouse over the Federal Government’s implementation of “no-work, no-pay” policy.
The Federal Government had paid only half salary for the month of October to the public university lecturers, who had been on industrial action for eight months and returned to work on October 14.
The lecturers said the policy is an attempt to casualise their employment, which they said is unacceptable stemming from the fact they are intellectuals.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige had been fingered as being behind the policy.
The lecture-free day protest will be organised at the branch level of the union across public university campuses nationwide and it will take place for all lecturers who are members of ASUU, the Chairman of the union, University of Lagos (UNILAG) branch, Dr. Dele Ashiru told reporters on Sunday.
Every university where ASUU has members has been directed to choose a day within the week to hold a special congress and also go on protest rally within their campuses, Ashiru revealed.
The UNILAG-ASUU had fixed Tuesday, November 15, for its own rally.
The protest seeks to draw the attention of Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to ASUU’s strong dissatisfaction of the Federal Government’s attempt at casualisation of the academics in the country by using ‘no-work, no-pay policy’ to remunerate them, Ashiru added.
