The National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, has given strike notice to the Federal Government over its dissatisfaction with payment of salaries through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS and the alleged breach of Memorandum of Understanding, MoU reached between the government and the association in 2018.
This is as the Vice President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, (North), Comrade Solomon Alfa, has said that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation should be held responsible if there is any disruption of academic activities when schools are reopened. Alfa said that the payment of the consequential adjustment from the minimum wage increase has not yet reflected on their salary.
The threat for strike is coming on the heels of plans by the federal government to re-open schools that were shut down following the declaration of lockdown to curtail the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus pandemic. The association said that the strike will be comprehensive, indefinite, total and would start immediately the lockdown is lifted and that there would be no other notice.
In a letter to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, NAAT stated that its disenchantment was as a result of the alleged anomalies and lack of transparency in the payment of salaries of its members through the IPPIS platform.
The letter which was signed by NAAT President, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, was copied to the Minister of Education, Accountant General of the Federation, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC and the President of Nigerian Labour Congress.
The association regretted that despite its protests through memos and phone calls from its leadership to the respective organs of government, the shortcomings in the payment of members salaries were also witnessed in the April salary.
Besides, it complained that the IPPIS unilaterally stopped the payment of occupational hazard allowance, which it said has been a major component of the salary of its members.
The letter read in part, “We write with a view to drawing the attention of the Honourable Minister, of the tension, total loss of confidence and disillusionment brewing in the University Community cutting across the teaching and the non-teaching staff and staff of other tertiary institutions across the nation. “This disenchantment is occasioned by the anomalies/ irregularities and lack of transparency in the payment of salaries of our members through the IPPIS Platform.
“These shortcomings continued to the last payment of salaries in April, in spite of protests through memos and phone calls from the leadership of the union. “The IPPIS unilaterally stopped the payment of occupational hazard allowance to our members. The occupational hazard allowance is a major component of the salary and therefore not an earned allowance.
“The Honourable Minister Sir, our Union has been at the forefront of the clamour for visitation panels in the Universities and the implementation of reports arising from such visitation. “Based on this and as a responsible union the leadership directed her members to key into IPPIS for payment of salaries to checkmate corruption, the menace of ghost workers and over-bloated salaries in the system with the understanding that the peculiarities of our members and the universities, as different from the core civil service will be taken care of.
“Sir, in the course of negotiation on the modalities for the peculiarities, a technical committee comprising representatives of the unions, IPPIS, salaries and wages commission and infinite (ICC Consultant) was constituted. “The committee after extensive deliberations produced a dummy pay slip which took care of Salaries, allowances (earned and peculiar) and acceptable to the members of the committee.
When the first salary payment under IPPIS was made, it was a clear departure from the understanding in the dummy pay ship. “The IPPIS office was notified and a meeting was held on the 19th March 2020 between the members of the National Executive Committee and IPPIS officials. “We were given assurances that prior to the meeting that communication had been opened between the IPPIS office and Salaries and wages commission on payment of allowances and that the observed irregularities would be rectified.
“Three months after, the salaries of our members have nose-dived and to our dismay, the office of the Accountant General of the Federation released a press statement directing our union to Salaries and wages Commission on payment of allowances contained in the 2009 FGN/NAAT Agreement, “These are clear acts of deceit and breach of trust; knowing fully well that the office of the Accountant General of the Federation and Salaries and wages Commission, were parties to the FGN/NAAT Agreement.”
