TheCable

Lecturers of the Lagos State University (LASU) have accused Olanrewaju Fagbohun (pictured), vice-chancellor of the university, of anti-workers’ policies.

In a letter dated December 12, 2018 and signed by Tony Dansu, secretary of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), LASU chapter, and Adeolu Oyekan, his assistant, ASUU-LASU alleged that the university management has refused to pay the earned academic allowances (EAA) of its teaching staff since 2009.

The union said it had made several attempts to draw the attention of the vice-chancellor to the issue but he would not respond.

The letter added that the management had made efforts to shortchange the lecturers by stalling their promotion.

“The Earned Academic Allowances it should be noted, was part of the negotiated emoluments of academic staff, whose payment was deferred by the University when it started to implement the new salary structure,” the letter read.

“No one, in his or her wildest imagination expected the University to accumulate the allowances spanning a period of almost a decade. Over the years, ASUU-LASU, under different leaderships has made a case for the payment of the allowances so that the University can avoid an accumulation that may in the future prove burdensome. These pleas were ignored by successive Administrations.

“It is for this reason that we find it very amusing for the Vice Chancellor, under whose watch, the arrears is about entering its 10th year, wax lyrical about his love for members of staff and their welfare. If he had commenced payment upon assuming office, what is outstanding would have been significantly lower.

“This is just one out of the over forty (40) anti-worker clauses smuggled into the agreed document The administration has since perfected other ways of short changing members of staff. by stalling the commencement of the promotion process of academic staff in the University.”

But responding, Ademola Adekoya, spokesman of the university, said the problem predates the tenure of the VC.

He said Fagbohun had put in his best to ensure improvement in the welfare of workers.

“The earned academic allowances predated the assumption of the vice chancellor. This issue has been in place since 2009 when the federal government agreed with ASUU that the allowances will be paid,” Adekoya said in response to inquiries by TheCable.

“Since 2009, nothing was done. Before the vice chancellor came in, a lot of salary arrears were not paid… Promotions were not done. He cannot just come in and begin to pay earned academic allowances and leave promotion and arrears unpaid.

“How many universities have been paying earned academic allowances in Nigeria? Even most universities are struggling to pay salaries. They are not even talking about earned academic allowances. What other universities are asking for is for their salaries to be paid as and when due.

“Even some universities are collecting half salaries. The vice chancellor is not saying he’s not going to pay but we have to prioritise things. We do not owe them salaries. Should the VC pay for earned academic allowances and leave their salaries? That is not the right thing to do. The VC cannot pay unilateral decision of paying the allowances. The state government will have to increase the subvention to pay all these things.”