The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) has suspended its strike following months of unresolved issues with the Federal Government.
The strike had embarked on an indefinite strike last October.
The Secretary-General of the Union, Theophilus Ndubuaku made this known in a letter to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige on Thursday.
“The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions hereby writes to inform you of our decision to suspend, with immediate effect, our ongoing strike,” the letter read in part.
Some of the issues the Union had with the Federal Government include:
“Refusal of the supervising ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to implement the Conditions of Service (CoS) of Federal Research Agencies, Institutions and Colleges (CoS 19) as approved by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (HCSF) with effect from January 1, 2019.
“Refusal of the Federal Government to pay the arrears of 53.7 percent on Consolidated Research and Allied Institutions Salary Structure (CONRAISS) despite the agreement between Joint Research and Allied Institutions Sectors Union (JORAISU) and the Federal Government since March 7, 2018.
“Refusal by the relevant agencies to facilitate the increase in the retirement age of staff in Research Institutions to 65 years for non-academic staff and 70 years for academic staff as obtains in the Nigerian universities.
“The serial sabotage by government functionaries in the establishment of the National Research and Innovation Council (NRIC).”
The letter further stated that the union reviewed the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and other Federal Government agencies to resolve the issues in dispute and noted the progress made so far.
Meanwhile, it was gathered that the Federal Government has resumed talks with the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Associations of Nigerian Universities and Non-Academic Staff Union over the ongoing strike actions.
