NASU Withdraws Essential Services in YABATECH

Non-Academic Staff Union of Education

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU), Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) Chapter, on Wednesday said it had decided to withdraw all essential services provided by its members.

Mr Olatunbosun Ilesanmi, NASU Chairman, YABATECH, said after the union's congress that drivers and those offering medical and fire services were stopping work immediately.

Ilesanmi said that the services were being withdrawn to further paralyse services, and to draw attention to their agitation.

"We are withdrawing all essential services provided our members with immediate effect, until government meets our demands.

"We allowed our members in these critical areas to continue to provide services because they are essential.

"But we have not seen any reason to keep them working if government will not meet our demands," he said.

According to him, the workers are not troublesome but they are taking the step because of the government's disposition to their demands.

"It is not our making to withdraw the services; we are not troublesome people, because this is not what we asked for from our government.

"We started the strike three months ago and we do not expect that the Federal Government will remain unconcerned with our demands.

"Since the strike started on Nov. 4, the government has done nothing to end the strike; government has continued to ignore the union," Ilesanmi said.

The unionist said that NASU members would stage a peaceful protest within the institution on Thursday to draw the attention of the government to their demands.

"NASU members in YABATECH will stage a peaceful protest within the campus to show that we are not happy," he said.

Ilesanmi said that the union also constituted a six-man monitoring committee to ensure total compliance of its members in the institution with the directive.

He advised the members not to offer any service until the union directed otherwise, noting that anybody who rendered any service did so at his or her own risk.

"Do not sneak in to provide any service because if you do, we will catch you and the union will take adequate steps against you.

"We also direct you not to fill any assessment form 'Apper Form' until the union suspends its strike," he said.

NAN reports that the union demands include payment of CONTISS 15 arrears and budgetary provision to sustain its payment.

They also want a re-negotiation of the FG-NASU 2010 agreement and their exclusion from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management System among other demands.