The Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo State chapter, has urged the Federal Government to uphold the agreement struck with ASUU over university professors’ salary structures.
The organisation stated that its members faced numerous problems that hampered their productivity, noting that, while they were not owed a wage, the salary they did receive was insufficient to meet their demands due to the country’s current inflation rate.
The head of the UNIMED ASUU, Abraham Olasupo, told this to journalists following a rally in Ondo town on Wednesday.
Olasupo stated that the government had increased energy and gasoline prices, and that such increases should be reflected in academics’ salaries.
He further stated that, in addition to the bad remuneration structure that has hurt academic workers, they are being denied payment of their earned academic stipend.
The 2009 Federal Government of Nigeria and ASUU agreement deals with our compensation system. What we mean by salary is that, given the current economic reality, our take-home pay is not enough to get us home.
The rationale is quite simple.When President Buhari’s administration began in 2015, a professor earned $3,800 by conversion; today, the same professor earns less than $275.
In Nigeria, all goods and services are currently priced in dollars. So, why can’t the government give us the equivalent of what a professor earned?
Olasupo stated that despite the union’s hope in the current government, the current government has allegedly refused to engage with them officially in the last year of office, stressing that if this attitude continues, the union will be forced to pursue other options, including a strike.
What they’re saying
“That is the essence of the renegotiation of what we are asking for. Since 2009, nothing has changed about university workers’ salaries; we have been receiving the same amount, products are quite expensive, and the inflation rate last year was between 14 and 20%.
“ It is currently more than 45%. “If someone is still earning what he was earning when the inflation rate was very low and then now, you know the salary can not go anywhere, and we are also parents, we need to take care of our families too and that’s why we are calling on the government.”
“It’s not about giving us money; what are you providing us? Is it enough to care for us? Does it accurately reflect the current state of the economy? The government has increased energy tariffs and petrol pump prices, but they have not thought it appropriate to reciprocate the same position with workers,” he continued.
He added,
“ASUU is always open to resolving issues amicably and was hopeful at the start that the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be favourably disposed of in addressing the pending issues, especially with Mr President’s posture and utterances that strike would be a thing of the past in our system.
‘Unfortunately, the same government has refused to relate with us formally over the last year in office.
“In view of this, the union has decided to take this matter to the public space once again so that Nigerians will be properly informed and will not blame us but the government because of their insensitivity, irresponsibility and non-responsiveness to the issues of university education in the country.”
In Essence
The primary concern is the significant erosion of academic staff salaries due to inflation. As Olasupo pointed out, a professor’s earnings have drastically decreased in value from $3,800 in 2015 to less than $275 today.
This decline underscores the severe impact of inflation on purchasing power and living standards for academic staff.
