Colleges of Education Lecturers Begin Strike Yesterday.

Colleges of Education Lecturers under COEASU began a total strike
yesterday after previously embarking a warning strikethat lasted seven
days. Two weeks after the Academic Staff Union of Universities
suspended its strike, lecturers in the Colleges of Education are set
to begin a nationwide strike on Tuesday.
This was stated in a letter served on the Supervising Minister of
Education, Nyesom Wike.
The letter was delivered by the General Secretary of the Colleges of
Education Academic Staff Union, Mr. Nuhu Ogirima, who lamented that
the Federal Government had failed to address issues raised by the
union.
The union's complaints are infrastructural decay, poor funding,
non-implementation of the 2010 FG-COEASU Agreement, poor conditions of
service, brain drain and illegal imposition of the Integrated
Personnel and Payroll Information System.
In the letter signed by the COEASU National President, Asagha Nkoro
and Ogirima, the union accused the government of directing the
National Commission for Colleges of Education to impose the IPPIS on
colleges without recourse to earlier meetings by parties.
It said, "While government held series of talks with the union
leadership between September and December 2013, evidence abound that
government does not wish to keep her side of the bargain in meeting
the understanding reached at such meetings.
"This, without equivocation, is unacceptable to our union given the
peculiar high nuisance and volatile nature of the colleges of
education sector.
"More so, but for the constitution and inauguration of the Needs
Assessment Committee, government merely paid lip services to all other
issues, highlighted in our earlier correspondences".
COEASU complained about discrimination against lecturers in colleges
of education which includes refusal to fund the Peculiar and
Responsibility Allowances as obtainable in Earned Allowances of the
universities; refusal to implement the migration of lower cadres as
obtainable in polytechnics; and non-accreditation of programmes of the
colleges of education among others.
In compliance with the resolution of its Expanded National Executive
Council Meeting, COEASU said its members had been directed to resume a
full scale strike action suspended earlier this year, "unless and
until government meets the demands".
In an interview, Ogirima said the union embarked on the strike due to
the attitude of the government.
He said, "You would recall that we observed a week warning strike
earlier this year and the Federal Government called us for talks.
Sadly, but for the NEEDS Assessment Committee which government
inaugurated, all other issues remain unattended in spite of the over
six (6) months of dialogue.
"We, therefore, have no alternative but to embark on the strike action
since this appears to be the only language gov't understands."
When contacted, Wike's Special Assistant (Media), Simeon Nwakaudu
promised to address the issues raised by the lecturers today.
Source: NGScholars