After several hours of talks, on Thursday between the Federal Government’s team and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), ended without the teachers agreeing to shelve their three-day old strike, both sides agreed to resume discussion next week.
Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige, who chaired the meeting, said that the government had proposed a merger of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS and the University Transparency and Account System (UTAS) developed by university lecturers as a way out of the contentious payroll system.
Dr. Ngige told reporters before the meeting went into technical session that the government called the meeting because of the two-week warning strike declared by ASUU leadership on Tuesday.
The minister faulted the union for not properly informing the government of its decision to withdraw services from the universities as prescribed by the provisions of industrial relations.
He however told reporters that the government team and ASUU representatives had fruitful discussions, adding that the parties debated where necessary by putting forward their points.