The Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has accused the Nigerian Federal Government of betrayal on the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
National President of the union Nuhu Ogirima this in a statement sent to EduCeleb.com on Sunday.
According to him, contrary to an assurance by the government that the union’s peculiarities would be taken into consideration in the implementation of the IPPIS, the February salary paid did not capture such.
He expressed worries that Peculiar Allowances of the staff of the subsector, especially the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance
(PEAA), as well as others were not included in the salary paid to the members.
“The attention of the National Secretariat has been drawn to the payment of February 2020 salary to staff of the Federal Colleges of Education by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN),” the statement made available EduCeleb.com read in part.
“From the information available, it is quite evident that the peculiarities of the Colleges of Education subsector, which the stakeholders’ meetings with IPPIS office, prior to its implementation, harped on as the basis of rejection of the obnoxious pay platform, have not been reflected.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the February salary paid by FGN did not include the Peculiar Allowances of the staff of the subsector, especially the Peculiar Earned Academic Allowance
(PEAA). Also not paid are staff on Sabbatical Leave. In addition, deductions were effected on all staff salary, indiscriminately, for the National Housing Fund (NHF), a voluntary scheme to which most staff did not subscribe.
“Whereas FGN deducted its own statutory deductions, the non-statutory deduction of staff necessary for their well-being, especially Staff Cooperative Society contributions were not made.
“Sadly, pension and the imposed obnoxious tax deductions were effected on gross earning of staff, which included non-taxable Allowances) as against the basic salary on which such deductions ought to be effected”.
The statement further said that the union views to this as a serious breach of trust and therefore consider FGN betrayal unacceptable.
The COEASU President also said that an expanded National Executive Council (NEC) of the union has been summoned to deliberate on further steps to take on the IPPIS matter as well as the N17b needs assessment and arrears of earned allowances.
“The Union shall, for a more robust reaction to this avoidable treat, reconvene the Expanded National Executive Council (ENEC) meeting to deliberate on further necessary action on IPPIS and other lingering issues of industrial concern, including but not limited to the inconclusive
renegotiation, the unfulfilled N15bn Needs Assessment palliative and the sum of N2.5bn unpaid arrears of Peculiar Allowances.”
The statement further warned that the impunity with which FGN has engendered this anomaly goes to further heighten the union fears and reinforces the concern over the wanton neglect of the Colleges of Education subsector by successive administrations, which peaked with the current government.
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