The Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), Federal College of Education (FCE), Pankshin in Plateau State, on Friday embarked on a three-day warning strike over what it described as “undue salary deductions’’ by the college management.
Chairman of the Union, Mr Jerry Dimlong, told journalists that, “What angered us most is that these deductions were done in order to pay our colleagues, the Academic Staff (COEASU) their Excess Work Load of N7, 500.
“That alone is a criminal act and misappropriation of funds, we are not benefiting yet the management deemed it expedient to rob us and pay COEASU; that we will not take.
“There is a circular from the Ministry of Education, which advised the management to pay that excess work load from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), but they didn’t and only chose to inflict NASU members with pain, ’’ he alleged.
“We want them to return our monies without further delay because there is a circular on how they should go about paying that excess work load to COEASU”, he insisted.
Dimlong warned that, “After this warning strike, we shall give the management 14 days, within which to refund our deducted funds of N225 million as they claimed, or we shall do something drastic.’
However, when the College’s Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Istifanus Kyakmut, was contacted, he confirmed the incident, and said it was done from the personnel but will be addressed “very soon.’’
“It is true, it so happen that the management paid the excess work load of COEASU from the personnel cost, but is something it plans to correct as soon as possible.
“It is very unfortunate that NASU has declared a 3-day warning strike because of something that has been explained to them with a clear promise that it shall be addressed very soon”, Kyakmut lamented.
He appealed to the Union to call off the warning strike and return to work since the management would not fail them on its promise.
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