Earned allowance: NAAT seeks intervention of NASS, traditional leaders to avert strike

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has urged the National Assembly, traditional rulers and all well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the Federal Government to ensure that its members are given a fair share of the N22.127 billion approved for payment of arrears of earned allowances in order to avert another industrial disharmony in the system.

The union said the intervention has become necessary following what it see as bias by the Minister of State for Education against the other university-based unions in the sharing of the allocation.

NAAT, in a statement signed by its Public Relations officer, Dr Godwin Magit Mafuyai, said it is shocked by what it described as a display of ignorance by the Minister of State for Education, Mr Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, of the workings and job schedules of university staff.

The NAAT PRO said it is worrisome that the Minister was recently credited to have claimed that ASUU gets a higher percentage of earned allowance allocation to the universities because it has a greater number of higher ranked officers than the other university-based unions.

The union insisted that, “The money remains earned and should not be paid on the basis of numerical strength, seniority or on personnel cost.”

It added that, “Consequently, NAAT demands a fair share of the N22.127 billion recently approved by government for payment of arrears of earned allowances in accordance with the signed agreement of individual university-based unions.”

NAAT said to be clear, it expects the Minister to know that as it stands today, librarians are academic staff while laboratory staff who are academic technologists are neither members of SSANU or NASU but members of NAAT.

It stated that, “therefore, for the Minister to muddle-up all these issues is a display of ignorance at the highest level. For the avoidance of doubts, the work of Academic Technologists in universities or any institution of higher learning includes conduct/ demonstration of practical, workshop/ studio practice and involvement in research activities.”

It stated further that, “NAAT wishes to make it categorically clear that earned allowances are strictly job related and are based on signed agreements which are not in any way related to numerical strength, cadre or rank.

“For example, in many instances, junior lecturers earned more than professors depending on their workload. Therefore, NAAT wishes to reiterate her earlier position that funds being released by government in relation to payment of arrears of earned allowances should not under any guise be treated as a largesse.”

The union explained that it has made several attempts to meet with the Minister through various correspondence, but is yet to get any response.