An indefinite strike has been declared by the Taraba State University Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, or ASUU-TSU. News reporters saw the walkout as a result of the Taraba State government and university administration’s inability to address long-standing institutional and welfare issues. In a statement released to reporters in the state capital of Jalingo on Wednesday, ASUU-TSU chairman Dr. Garba Mbave Joshua said that the strike was unavoidable because the government had been given a 30-day grace period that ended on July 4, 2024.
According to the union leaders, the unresolved issues that led to the industrial actions were: lack of a pension plan; unpaid salary arrears; lack of a governing council; non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); exclusion from national minimum wage adjustments; and insufficient funding.
The union argued that the future security of academic workers is at risk because there hasn’t been a working pension plan since the university’s founding.
“Persistent delays in the payment of accumulated salary arrears have caused financial hardship for staff. Despite partial payments by the government, negotiations for the balance have collapsed.” Taraba ASUU said.
The union leaders expressed their displeasure that the university has been functioning without a Governing Council for more than a year, which has left important decisions in limbo and affected academic staff and institutional administration. They also claimed that they “have been denied their entitlements dating back to the 2014/2015 academic session.”
The administration was also charged by the union with making repeated but unmet promises to remedy this problem.
The union stressed that it has tried to work with the administration to address these problems on several occasions. However, it said that it had no choice but to start industrial action because there had been no concrete action.
They warned that the strike would go on until the demands were addressed and urged all parties involved, including the general public, to put pressure on the government to address the problems immediately.
“This action is in defence of our members’ welfare, the integrity of the institution, and the future of higher education in Taraba State,” the statement concluded.
