FG: Varsity unions can’t dictate salary payment platform

The Federal Government has dismissed the insinuation that it was planning to introduce different salary payment platforms for the trade unions in tertiary institutions.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had insisted on the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) it created, claiming that the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) was short changing them.

The federal government had in March said UTAS failed three integrity tests.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions (NASU) had also recommended Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (UPPPS) as their own payment platform.

However, Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, said the union can’t dictate to government the salary payment platform to be used for its workers.

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Ngige spoke with journalist after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday.

He said: “No employee or worker can dictate to his employer how he or she will be paid.’’

The minister assured that efforts were on towards resolving the ongoing faceoff between the government and ASUU as well as other university based unions over payment platforms.

He said contrary to insinuations that the government was not engaging with ASUU, there had been series of meetings between all parties with the next one coming up on Thursday.

The Star