Following the hike in petroleum pump price as a result of fuel subsidy removal, the leadership of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has threatened to direct its members nationwide to go to work twice in a week due to difficulties the lecturers are facing.
COEASU vowed that its members would go to work twice a week until the federal government yields to its demand of a 200 percent increase in salary.
COEASU National President, Dr. Smart Olugbeko, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said this decision was reached on Tuesday 18th July 2023 at an extraordinary meeting of the Union, where it was agreed that its members can only work two days in a week.
He added that an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of COEASU would be convened to ratify this decision and decide on the specific days of the week members are to go to work.
He lamented that since this arbitrary hike in fuel pump price, the leadership of the Union has been inundated by members’ complaints that they could no longer go to work as a resultant high cost of transportation.
Olugbeko said: “The National leadership of our great Union in its extraordinary meeting held on Tuesday, 18th July 2023 had agreed to direct its members to go to work two days weekly until Federal Government yields to its demand of 200 percent increase in salary amidst the difficulty of members to get to work as a result of hike in the price of petrol.
“The implementation of removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government two months ago raised the price of a litre of petrol by 250%. This worsened the inflationary rate on the cost of transportation, food and other essential commodities and impoverished the Nigerian people.
“Workers, including staff of Colleges of Education, kept faith with Government and chose to endure the untold hardship thinking it would be only for a while as government promised to roll out palliative measures including significant increase in salaries.
“Alas! While our capabilities to sustain hope were already exhausted, the price of petrol rose further to N650 per litre.
“Now, the leadership of the Union has been inundated by members’ complaints that they could no longer go to work as a result of hike in the price of petrol and resultant high cost of transportation.
“Against this backdrop, it has become inevitable for the Union to direct members to go to work only two days weekly while an emergency NEC meeting shall be convened to ratify this decision and decide on the specific days of the week members are to go to work,” he stated.
The COEASU president, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to quickly address the issue of salary adjustment for staff of Colleges of Education, warning that the inevitable action of the Union against this hardship would have devastating effects on the students as it would lead to a prolonged academic calendar.
He lamented that the present salary of staff of Colleges of Education was approved in the year 2010, about 13 years ago, saying what this means was Colleges of Education staffers have been on same salary since 2010 while petrol price rose intermittently from N65/N70 in 2010 to N650 in 2023, which Olugbeko described as tenfold increase.
“Our salary structure which is subject to renegotiation at 3-year interval has remained static for 13 years, skipping four due renegotiation.
“It is ludicrous that Government has refused to return to the negotiation table on the welfare package for staff after the Union, prior to the removal of fuel subsidy, had proposed 200% increase in salary as against Government offer of a ridiculous 35% for Chief Lecturers and 23% for other cadres.
“We call on the federal government to urgently do the needful because the inevitable action of the Union against this hardship will have devastating effects on the students as it will lead to a prolonged academic calendar – a semester of 16 weeks will become 32 weeks or more; while Teaching Practice exercise of 6 months will become 12 months.