Colleges of education strike enters fourth week

The teachers, under the auspices of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) embarked on strike to stop what they termed the imposition of the Integrated Personnel & Payroll Information System (IPPIS) on colleges of education.A letter by the union dated 18th December, sent to the Minister of Labour Emeka Wogu, accused government of […]

The teachers, under the auspices of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) embarked on strike to stop what they termed the imposition of the Integrated Personnel & Payroll Information System (IPPIS) on colleges of education.
A letter by the union dated 18th December, sent to the Minister of Labour Emeka Wogu, accused government of insincerity in talks over the best method to apply in resolving the matter which had been on for years.
The letter jointly signed by COEASU President Comrade Asagha Emmanuel Nkoro and General Secretary Nuhu Ogirima accused government of sowing the seed of distrust by “clandestinely directing her moribund teacher-education agency, the National Commission for Colleges of Education to serve the colleges with a matching order to enrol in the exploitative and crises-ridden IPPIS compulsorily by January, 2014.”     
The union is also decrying the non release of the white paper for the 2012 visitation panel on issues affecting staff of colleges, non accreditation of programmes of the COEs and the non-funding of peculiar and responsibility allowances amounting to N5. 38bn.
It is also fighting the outsourcing of security and labour services, insisting on the reintegration of affected personnel. While urging for degree awarding status for COEs in core education programmes, the union condemned the non-release of death benefits to families of deceased members, which they blamed on “compromised administration of the Group Life Assurance Scheme.”   
COEASU stated that six meetings were held by the union and government between September and December 2013 with ministers of education and that of labour attending four of the meetings, but said that evidence shows that government does not want to honour understanding reached at the meetings.