The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) has called off its industrial action.
The strike which has been for months was put on hold after a meeting with the members of the union at the university’s main campus in Ogbomoso on Tuesday.
The governing council had about a month ago approved reopening of the institution with a promise that the two owner states will provide the fund needed to offset the arrears of workers.
Recently, the institution received more than N1 billion subventions from the owner states as agreed with the governing council.
The Secretary of ASUU LAUTECH Dr. Abegunrin, corroborated by the union’s Zonal Coordinator Dr. Ade Adejumo, confirmed that the strike had been suspended with immediate effect but academic activities will kick off on Monday, October 23.
“The zone will have to be briefed, national will have to be briefed, but the Congress has suspended the strike in principle as from today but full lectures will resume on Monday,” Dr. Adejumo said. “Skeletal things will continue, preparatory to the commencement of full academic activities on Monday.”
The suspension is coming following news that the lecturers started receiving their three-months’ salary arrears – one of their demands for resumption – during the weekend.
Over the months, LAUTECH had been riddled with numerous resumption dates which turned out to hold little water. First, the university management widely publicised September 15 and October 3 for reopening the university and resuming academic activities, respectively.
Although the gates of the institution were reopened as scheduled, lectures did not commence as the academic staff union refuted the announcement saying none of their issues had been addressed and that “strike is still in full force.”
With mounting pressure from the agitated students, LAUTECH’s Vice-Chancellor Prof. A.S. Gbadegesin, once again, promised Monday, October 16, as an alternative resumption date. That date also passed, to no avail.
