Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology ( LAUTECH ) , Ogbomoso, and the school management have remained at loggerheads, despite the meeting held by the two parties on Monday to end the prolonged strike.
The union’s Zonal Coordinator, Dr. Ade Adejumo, told The Nation on Wednesday that the union was yet to receive the six months salary arrears promised by the two owner-state governments — Oyo and Osun — as their means of resolving the strike.
“Nothing has been offered to us,” Dr. Adejumo said. “We are still where we were when we started the action.”
The school management on Thursday declared the university reopened, asking students to resume for academic activities on Monday, September 18; but the academic staff union promptly denounced the announcement, stating that none of their issues had been addressed and that “strike is still in full force.”
This prompted the school management to invite the academic staff union for a meeting on Monday to “discuss issues related to the reopening of the university.” The management also explained that “the slight delay” in reaching out to the union “was inadvertent as it was occasioned by the pressure of work.”
However, the meeting was not productive, as the academic staff union maintained their stand regarding the strike. “We are not coming back,” said Dr. Adejumo.
He pointed out in a separate interview that the union would not be open to dialogue unless their agitations are taken care of. Their agitation, he said, goes beyond salaries. “We need a sustainable way to run the institution.”
Dr. Adejumo advised parents not to send their children back to school.
“Do not let the government deceive you into sending your children back to school,” he said.
The Nation reached out Lekan Fadeyi, the PRO of LAUTECH, who said he was not at the meeting with the academic staff union and referred our reporter to the University Registrar.
The Registrar, however, could not be immediately reached.
