Protesting staff of the Federal University of Oye-Ekiti has alleged of plot to sack them if they failed to resume work.
They said such action was illegal as negotiation between them and the management over their demands was still on-going with the Ministry of labour and employment.
Comrade Ademola Mattew, Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), said: “we are protesting against the impunity and insensitivity of our university management to our plight and our welfare.
“The management has neglected the staff of the university. Ever since this university was inaugurated six years ago, we haven’t had peace.
“You can see heavy security personnel with their armoured tanks and others here. The university management had brought them to intimidate us but they have been conducting the security situation well. Our grievances against the university management include a recently concluded June 2016 promotion exercise in May 2017 and it is biased, they gave promotions to their girlfriends, relatives and friends and put the average for promotion at a very ridiculous level of 85 percent, you cannot find such high percent anywhere in the world.
“There are issues of unpaid allowances and improper placements among others.
“We have been peaceful and polite in making known our grievances, but it seems the only language the university management understands is force and resoluteness and we will continue to push for these demands, we won’t relent on this effort untill our demands are met.”
Com Ajibaye Ekundayo Peter, Chairman, National Association of Academic Technologists in FUOYE, said: “We want to brief our colleagues and to tell our people that the current threat messages from the Vice-Chancellor, Registrar and PRO of the university with one Professor Abu have been sending to staff members is unwarranted and illegal.
“We have commenced a strike action since May 15 and as we speak, the issues we have against the university management is currently with the Ministry of labour and Employment and we met on Friday, but even with that.
“The management has busied itself sending threat messages to our colleagues that they would be sacked if they failed to resume work.
“In reaction to this development, we, in conjunction with our national and state headquarters, have gathered here to soldiarize and to reinstate that no agreement has been reached at the ministry of labour yet, therefore, the strike action of our staff continues and no management, neither Professor Kayode Shoremekun, or Mr. Adeyemo who calls himself the registrar, can stop this action until a substantive agreement is reached at the Ministry of labour.
“So, no staff of the federal university of Oye-Ekiti should be intimidated by any threat message to sack them. The management cannot sack us for going on legal strike to fight for our rights.
“As you can see, the university gate is fully protected and guarded with heavily armed security personnel, yet we have gathered here to enforce that our colleagues stay at home until further instruction is given by the union’s secretariat.
“It is high time the President and the Inspector General of Police stopped the VC of FUOYE and his management team from maligning harmless staff of the university who are only protesting against injustice meted out to them by the management.
“It is high time the EFCC stepped in to investigate the financial recklessness of the management of this university.
“If we tell you the amount of millions of Naira they have used to subdue us, if such amount of money was used to settle our grievances, we would not be in this crisis today.”
Reacting to claims by the leaders of the protesting staff, Public Relations Officer of FUOYE, Godfrey Bachir denied allegations that some members of the university management were sending threat messages to some staff.
He said the issue on promotion was being reviewed by the management to ensure that all staff were properly taken care of.
The PRO added that the management needed to revert to the university council before it could take a decision on whether to pardon some of the staff union leaders who were querried for misconduct.
“As I speak with you, the issue of promotion is being reviweded by management and the new one coming up will take care of all that are due for promotion.
“No member of the management has sent threat messages to staff members to sack them if they fail to resume work. As for the agitation that union leaders who disrupted council meetings and have been duly queried, should be pardoned. That decision can only be taken by the university council and the council hasn’t met to decide.”
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