The National President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, has urged the Federal Government to allow the management of tertiary institutions in the country to prepare payrolls for payment of workers salaries. This, he said, would bring a solution to the “shoddy and lopsided” problems currently seen in the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
Comrade Ibrahim said SSANU in its quest to find a lasting solution to the problems associated with IPPIS implementation, and their interest for industrial harmony in the labour sector; propelled their search and finding that the payroll preparation is done by IPPIS with which it pays tertiary institution workers to deprive many their due entitlements.
Exclusively speaking to Nigerian Tribune, in a follow-up interview to a recent communique where SSANU expressed disappointment over what it termed “shoddy and lopsided implementation of some core components of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS)”, Comrade Ibrahim, expressly said; “Just as our communique rightly said, IPPIS is shoddy and lopsided in the implementation of some core components of the new payment system.
“From our research, we find out that the problem we are facing with IPPIS is caused by the payroll they prepare and use to make payment. Therefore, we are calling on the government to hands off from preparing salary payroll of workers in the tertiary institutions.
“Allow the institutions to prepare the payroll and hand it over to you. You, of course, will have to cross-check before making payment. The centre of the problem we are facing with the IPPIS payment system is that it deprives workers of their actual earnings. For instance, it deprives some workers on sabbatical their salary from their mother institutions and others from their institutions of sabbatical assignment. And we have traced and found out that the problem is with the payroll from which the IPPIS pays workers.”
He further said: “If the government heeds this advice, it will surely prevent industrial disharmony in the labour sector that is already looming due to the problems of IPPIS. The solution to the problem can easily be resolved if the government would do what is necessary for the whole problems associated with the system to end.”
While he explained that IPPIS was actually a good idea intended to expunge high levels of corruption that was intertwined with tertiary institutions’ salary payment system, Comrade Ibrahim said; “Clearly, the idea for which IPPIS was initiated was noble. IPPIS was actually meant to put an end to corrupt practices that were associated with the payment of salaries to workers in the tertiary institutions.
“Before the coming of the IPPIS payment system, workers’ salaries were paid from different payment points, days and weeks; interval. Some people were using workers’ salaries to do whatever they like, while some others took hold of it and paid whenever they wanted to.
“IPPIS was among other things meant to ensure that salaries of workers are paid from the same payment point (Abuja) and the same day. The idea is to make sure that no person or persons somewhere hinders salaries from being paid to workers once it is being released by the Federal Government. There is no doubt that the intentions behind the concept were noble.
“But right now, it is more like the worst nightmare to our members. This is because it seems to be causing more harm than the good it proposes to bring.”
Asking if the unions have engaged to resolve the issues with the government, he conspicuously said: “We have cried and engaged the government on the challenges we are facing with the system. Over and again they promised to attend to our concerns and resolve the issues but the problem is still there. Many of our members are still being deprived of their actual payment. And with so many complaints from our members, we are calling on the government to hands off from preparation of payroll. This will definitely put an end to all the problems IPPIS is causing us.
“Let the universities, the institutions prepare the payroll as it is supposed to be and hand it over to the IPPIS for onward payment. We are not saying IPPIS should not do the work it has been assigned to do…what we are saying is the problem with the payment system is the fact that the payroll from which it pays, is inaccurate and deprives our members of their rights. So, the government should allow the schools to prepare the payroll and submit it to IPPIS for payment. This will no doubt solve the problem at hand.
“Recently, when we came to meet them, they said they have established IPPIS centres in each zone. I guess the idea for this was to decongest the bulk of work or complaints they receive in Abuja. However, I don’t see how opening IPPIS centres in each zone will resolve the issues we are facing with the system.
“So we are saying, for a peaceful and harmonious industrial relationship between the government and workers, we are telling them to hands-off pay-rolling which is the bane of the problem so far.”
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