By Our Reporter
There are indications that academic and other activities at the 110 federal government colleges, FGCs, commonly known as Unity Schools, may be disrupted soon following a notice of strike by Organized Labour over poor welfare among others.
Under the aegis of the the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, ASCSN, Organized Labour, expressed disgust that for past two years the federal ministry of education has bluntly refused to address the poor conditions of workers.
In a 21 day ultimatum issued to the government, ASCSN vowed to order workers in the institutions to down tools and commence a nationwide strike in the government failed to address it demands.
Other demands included “disarticulation of Junior Secondary Schools from the Senior Secondary Schools to create vacancies in the Directorate level, payment of transport allowance and DTA to Federal Education Quality Assurance Service FEQAS, staff, and the need to drastically reduce exorbitant medical fees charged members of staff by the Health Management Organisation, HMO, appointed by the Federal Ministry of Education under the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS.”
ASCSN in a statement by its Secretary General, Joshua Apebo, the Association said it was tired of requests since 2023 through series of letters to the Federal Ministry of Education to convene a meeting to address welfare issues affecting its members in the 110 Unity Colleges throughout the Country, among others.
In the letter of ultimatum to the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja dated Thursday, 23rd January 2025, ASCSN lamented that all efforts since 2023 to bring the Management of the Federal Ministry of Education to the negotiating table to discuss welfare matters affecting its members in the 110 Unity Schools and the FEQAS throughout the country had been treated with contempt.
According to the Union, “the outstanding welfare issues include payment of promotion, salary, and elongation arrears; payment of allowance to Education Officers displaced from the Unity Schools in the North-East, payment of 1st 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation as stipulated in the Public Service Rules.
“There are also issues of regularization of appointment of PTA teachers, implementation of the White Paper which stipulates that Units of the Association in the 110 Federal Unity Schools should be members of the School Based Management Committees, SBMCs, so that they could be part of the decision-making processes in the Schools, scholarship for children of Education Officers in Colleges where their parents teach in line with the directive of former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
“We have also consistently demanded for the resumption of Quarterly Meetings with the Union where welfare issues affecting members of the Association in the headquarters of the Ministry, those in the 110 Federal Government Colleges, and those in FEQAS throughout the country can be discussed and resolved in the interest of industrial peace and harmony but all our gestures for dialogue have been rebuffed.
“Since all efforts to bring the Federal Ministry of Education to the dialogue table have been frustrated and since the national leadership of the Association could no longer contain the restiveness of its members in the Unity Colleges and FEQAS, no further notice would be required after the expiration of the 21 days ultimatum issued on Thursday 23rd January 2025 before Trade Union actions start in the Unity Schools and FEQAS.
“All stakeholders are urged to prevail on the Federal Ministry of Education to embrace dialogue now instead of waiting for the industrial actions to start only for them to begin to plead with the Union to sheath its swords.”
@Vanguard.