UniCross ASUU to meet govt over 45-day old strike

The University of Cross River (UniCross) chapter of the Academy Staff Union of University (ASUU) says it will meet with the state government over the ongoing industrial action embarked upon since May 19.

The institution’s ASUU chairman, Dr Patrick Ushie, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Calabar on Tuesday.

He disclosed that the union had received an invitation for a meeting from the technical committee set up by the government on the matter, adding that the committee had earlier requested documents on their grievances.

“These documents were submitted today (Tuesday), and we are preparing for the meeting before the week runs out.

“I am sure the documents are meant to prepare them for the planned meeting,” Ushie said.

On the possibility of suspending the strike after the meeting, he said, “It is all we pray and hope for, just like them”.

The chairman however, vowed that the industrial action would continue until the state government addressed the issues in contention.

“All I can tell you is that there is no backing down on the strike until our demands are fully met by the government,” he said.

Ushie told NAN that the union took the decision to embark on the industrial action following the breakdown of dialogue with the management of the institution.

According to him, several meetings held with the management failed to produce any result.

“They (management) told us that their hands are tied as they don’t have the funds to implement our demands.

“They also told us that they currently receive N300 million as subvention from the government and will need an additional N200 million to meet our demands.

“We wrote to the governor and as we speak, he has not responded to our letter since we did.”

The UniCross chapter of ASUU had on May 19 embarked on an indefinite strike over issues bordering on welfare and non-implementation of agreement reached with the national body.