Posted by By Simon Ebegbulem on
THE University of Benin chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has given a 21-day ultimatum to the authorities of the university to settle their two months allowances and other entitlements accruing to them in the last two years or they would down tools.
BENIN CITY - THE University of Benin chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has given a 21-day ultimatum to the authorities of the university to settle their two months allowances and other entitlements accruing to them in the last two years or they would down tools.
Meanwhile, four senior staff of the university have died within the last one year of exhaustion and work overload, as a result of the alleged refusal of the university authority to grant annual leave to those entitled to it.
Speaking to newsmen yesterday, in Benin City, chairman of ASUU in the university, Dr Austin Moye, lamented that the university authority has withheld their two months salary for the 2003 strike, non-payment of the excess work head allowance, selective payment for industrial supervision allowance and denial of annual leave to members of the academic staff.
They also accused the university authority of re-introducing the national promotion policy, which according to them, had earlier been rejected by the council.
They claimed the council had agreed that the university must promote its staff as at when due and that "in the event of any promotion being delayed,the staff involved must be paid the entitlements from the date he or she was promoted.
"We have shown tremendous understanding on these matters. We have given the university authority enough time to settle all of them but we discovered that our understanding has been mistaken to be an acceptance of obnoxious policies and actions of administration.
Our congress has resolved that these matters must be resolved within 21 days beginning from 17th August,2005.
"We reject national promotion and insist that the university must okay our members who were promoted and the promotion exercise must be carried out as at when due. If for any reason the university is unable to promote staff, when it is due, such staff must not be made to bear the brunt of the inefficiency of the system", he asserted.
Speaking further, Dr Moye stated that the university has been denying staff of their annual leave, which has led to the death of four of their staff out of exhaustion because they were denied their leave in the last ten years. "We are in a slave camp in the university today. When the Registrar of the university approves leave, the Head of Department (HOD) withholds. Then we are helpless."