The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Benue State University Branch (ASUU-BSU), has officially announced the resumption of their strike action. The decision, approved by ASUU-National, comes after the Benue State University (BSU) Administration failed to address the welfare concerns of the union.
In an emergency Congress held at the Arts Theatre Complex on Thursday, ASUU-BSU members were informed of the total, indefinite, and comprehensive strike. This strike will continue until all the demands of the branch are satisfactorily addressed by the BSU Administration.
The root cause of the strike can be traced back to a tripartite agreement reached in January 2023 between the Benue State Government (BNSG), BSU Administration, and ASUU-BSU. The agreement aimed to address the issues of promotion and annual increments through increased funding.
To their credit, the BNSG has fulfilled their part of the agreement by providing additional funds to the university for the purpose of implementing promotions and annual increments. However, the BSU Administration has refused to pay the staff their entitlements despite receiving the additional funds from the government.
This breach of the January 2023 agreement by the BSU Administration led to a strike in May 2023. ASUU-BSU, in a display of goodwill, suspended the strike on June 26th, 2023, following assurances from the BSU Administration to adhere to the agreement. Unfortunately, the university has continued to breach the agreement by failing to pay the arrears of annual increments from January 2023 to January 2024.
ASUU-BSU has listed several unresolved issues that led to the current strike action, including the implementation and payment of accrued arrears of promotions from 2021 to 2023, payment of salary arrears for April 2023, and the shortfall in salaries for staff of the College of Health Sciences. The union also demands the payment of earned academic allowances, sundry allowances, and the non-enrollment/implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme, among other concerns.
ASUU-BSU issued this statement in hopes of informing the public about the reasons behind their current strike action and the efforts they made to resolve the issues through dialogue with the BSU Administration. However, dialogue has proven ineffective in achieving the desired outcome.
The union appeals to students, the Benue public, and all stakeholders of BSU to intervene and ensure that the welfare concerns of the branch are fully addressed. For now, the strike continues, as ASUU-BSU remains firm in their resolve to fight for their rights.
Comrade Kwaghfan V. Tarnongo, Chairperson ASUU-BSU
Terrumun H. Gajir, Secretary of ASUU-BSU
