Bimbola Oyesola, 08033246177
Workers in the research and development institutes in Nigeria have vowed that only immediate payment of the outstanding salary and fulfilment of other agreements by the Federal Government would make them suspend the ongoing strike in the sector.
The workers, under the aegis of Research and Projects Trade Group Council of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, who accused the Federal Government of paying lip service to issues affecting research and development institutions in Nigeria, said that the strike could linger for a long time, unless government fulfils its part of the agreement.
The union, among other decisions at the meeting, expressed disappointment at what it described as government foot-dragging on the welfare of workers in the sector.
The union said, “We call on government to urgently settle the 12 months’ arrears of CONRAISS and direct the full implementation of other issues in the agreement, if the ongoing indefinite strike embarked on by JORAISU will be suspended.”
The group, in a statement by its chairman, Wakili Tijani, and secretary, Emma Okonkwor, also took condemned the poor funding of the nation’s research and development institutions/federal colleges of agriculture.
Calling on government to devise a steady means of ensuring increased flow of resources to the sector, it noted that such steps would enable national aspirations for which the institutions were established to be achieved.
“Conscious of the fact that the research and development institutions/federal colleges of agriculture play prominent roles in the development of the nation, the council-in-session urged the present administration to implement the portion of the agreement government had with the unions on the need to increase the annual budgetary allocations to the sector in line with the recommendations of UNESCO,” it said.
The group equally made a case for the approval of a Special Intervention Fund for a period of three years on a 50:30:20 ratio annually like it did for the universities, as well as create a special fund to be called National Research and Technology Development Fund.
The union condemned the stopping of the payment of all forms of allowances to staff of the research institutes and stoppage of 65 years retirement age for staff of federal colleges of agriculture by the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria, Abuja, since 2012.
It lamented that subsequent moves to redress the matter by the union via the declaration of trade dispute against the management were frustrated by the ARCN, which made it not to yield any positive result since 2013.
The union also noted that the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria dabbled into what is the exclusive responsibility of NSIWC, which ought not to be so.
It added further, “The council, therefore, felt disappointed that the unions’ appeal via letter reference NASU/R/287/128 dated 17th June, 2016, to the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, to, as a matter of urgency, act fast in concluding conciliation on the matter, which started in year 2013, or refer it to the IAP, was not positively treated by the ministry.”
While expressing dismay on the position of government on the scheme of service for the sector, the group called on government to release for implementation the reviewed Conditions/Scheme of Service for Federal Research and Development Institutes, Colleges, Agencies and Allied Institutions.