LAUTECH ASUU Threatens Strike Action

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) chapter has asked Oyo state governor, Abiola Ajimobi and his Osun state counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola to pay their outstanding 13 months salaries owed them without any further delay.

The union threatened industrial action should the workers’ arrears of salaries not paid by the states government.

The union stated that their members are struggling to survive and nobody is ready to give them loan to meet up to their basic needs.

LAUTECH ASUU chairman, Dr Oyebamiji Oyegoke said this while addressing newsmen in Ibadan on Tuesday, July 21. He said the institution workers are facing untold hardship because of their unpaid salaries which has ran into 13 months.

He said it became imperative for them to call out in view of the Bail-out being granted to states by the federal government, which Oyo state and Osun state are beneficiaries.

The union leader also called for the judicious use of the Bail-out funds to boost the lives of workers. He also demanded for regular payment of salary from the monthly government subventions and not from internally generated revenue which is meant to be used for other welfare and development projects.

Dr Oyegoke stated that: “two‎ owner states jointly owe the university workers 13-month salaries forcing the university to keep the system running via financial interventions.”

He also lamented on other developments in the university. The don explained that there are no visible projects on the campus in the last five years; Dr Oyebamiji said the projects visible on the campus are products of ASUU struggles and TETFUND interventions‎.

Warning of the looming industrial action between the workers and the governments of Oyo and Osun states, ASUU questioned if Governors Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola ‎ have forgotten their promise to the school; saying:“spend the necessary monies on LAUTECH to turn it into a model university among its peers.”

According to ASUU, the Oyo and Osun governments have abandoned their responsibilities of providing funding as expected for the university whether capital or recurrent.

Most universities workers have used strike actions to demand for their rights from the government both federal and state.