The Nigerian Project Initiative (NPI) and the Initiative to Save Democracy (ISD) have condemned the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for demanding salary arrears of months the union was on strike.

The Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) said they were outraged over ASUU’s decision to keep students at home with its demand for the payment of six salaries when the teachers were out of class.

NPI and ISD made their position known in a statement jointly signed by NPI Chairman, Mohammed Salihu and Akinloye James, ISD Chairman on Sunday.

“The demand by ASUU to be paid for the months its members were on strike is hollow, self centred and vexatious,” the statement said.

It added: “It is particularly provoking that other unions in the academic community pursuing almost the same goals have decided to go back to work but ASUU members rather than follow suit are demanding payment for work that they did not do.

“Which employer does that? If for example the government were to heed them, would that not be a recipe for disaster as NASU and SSANU which have agreed to go back to work would now resort to strike to demand the same salaries that they forfeited during the strike?”

Zamfara govt: Bandit leader, Bello Turji, killing unrepentant terrorists

The CSOs said that ASUU forfeit salary because their activities have been halted and urged the academics to return to work in the interest of students.

“It is a rule in industrial relations that unions keep a strike fund and ASUU through its president has admitted that they have been paying their union members. So, it is thus apparent that ASUU by its demand is now seeking double pay for its members for work not done.

“For the sake of our students who have missed out on account of the strike we expect ASUU to rush back to work at this time and look forward towards repairing the damage that has been done through the strike instead of this resort to financial blackmail,” the groups said.

According to them, the union has lost it and their offices will be besieged unless they return to work from next week.

“ASUU has lost it this time and we dare say that if by this week that ASUU sticks on to its selfish demands we would be compelled to lay siege to ASUU offices across the country given that all men of good conscience are against ASUU,” the statement concluded.

The Star