March 27, (THEWILL) – The National Association of Academic Technologists, University of Calabar Chapter, has said that it withdrew its services from public universities because the Federal Government failed to meet most of its demands.
The Chairman of the UNICAL chapter and Zonal Coordinator of the Association in the South-South, Comrade Alexander Oko, disclosed this after its emergency congress held at the Physics Laboratory of the University of Calabar.
Oko listed the demands to include non-full implementation of the 2009 FGN/NAAT Agreement, delay in the renegotiation of FGN/NAAT Agreement, non-payment of arrears of the national minimum wage, government’s refusal to release the enabling circular for the implementation of CONTISS 14 and 15 for academic technologists as contained in the MOU of 2017, 2020 and 2021, non payment of Earned Allowances (EA) for members specifically as agreed in the MOU of 2021 that subsequent release of EA shall be union based and subsequent sharing shall be based on template generated from signed agreement each union and not number of persons in each union as personnel cost, as well as the non release of adequate laboratories/workshop/studios in Nigerian universities.
He lamented that 12 years after signing agreements with NAAT, many components of the agreement are either partially or not implemented.
The branch chairman also faulted the government on the non-conclusive renegotiation of the FGN/NAAT 2009 agreement that has been ongoing for more than two years, describing it as smacking of insensitivity and provocation on the part of the government.
He added that if the government fails to address its demands, NAAT might be compelled to embark on a total and indefinite strike.
NAAT also faulted the current practice in public universities where many hitherto functional laboratories, workshops and studios are gradually being converted to classrooms.
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THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
