The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, has said that the Federal Government is working hard to avert another strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Onyejeocha said that the various reforms and policies of President Bola Tinubu, are meant to holistically tackle Nigeria’s many economic challenges from the root, and proffer a lasting solution.
According to her, Nigerians will still enjoy the lasting gains of the reforms although the initial effects might be painful.
The Minister who spoke while fielding questions from newsmen during her 17th annual free medical outreach at Isuochi, Abia State, expressed optimism that the issues being raised by ASUU would soon be resolved.
Recall that ASUU had last week, given Government 14-day ultimatum to clear the remaining four months salary arrears owed their members during the 2020 nationwide strike.
ASUU also wants the Government to remove its members from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll System (IPPS), and migrate them to the University Transparency and Accountability System (UTAS); defrayal of the balance of earned allowance among other demands.
The Minister also assured that the Government was in touch with the Organised Labour to avert a looming nationwide strike.
She said:”For the ASUU strike, it’s being sorted out, and I know that very soon, those issues will be resolved. On the looming nationwide strike, we met with the NLC leadership on Wednesday and we had fruitful deliberations. We were able to tell them the state of the nation.
It’s good to let the Organised Labour know what the government is doing.”
Explaining that some measures, though painful, had to be taken to prevent the economy from total collapse, the Minister appealed to Nigerians to be patient and support President Tinubu in his bid to re-invest the country’s economy.
“We can’t fold our hands and expect manner to fall from heaven. The President is trying to fix things. The decisions we are making are not easy but they are ultimately for our good as a country.
”Some of the things causing the hunger were what the Government of the day inherited. People who were here before did not take appropriate actions to say stop where they should say stop.
”But now President Tinubu has said that this haemorrhage has to stop. We can’t continue to pay fuel subsidy.
”So, that’s the pain that everybody is going through, and I don’t think we should fold our hands and continue this way. It’s not all about providing subsidies because. If you provide subsidy to the extent that you don’t have a country, what happens?
