Orji pleads against Abia varsity workers’ strike

Their spokesman, Chima, told the governor they were forced to call on him by three months of hunger, especially during the yuletide that they were to specially look after their families. The varsity workers pleaded with Orji to consider paying their three months salary arrears.

Not happy that such visit was undertaken at this period that everybody is in festive mood, but acknowledging the genuineness of their demand, the governor pleaded with the workers to shelve the strike and give him one month to address their demands.

The governor, who, however, remarked that out of the three tertiary institutions in the state, ABSU has issued threat to go on strike, suspecting that their actions in that regard might be politically motivated and supported by his detractors, noting that all the efforts he made to pay their said salaries, including raising funds from the credit market failed.

Reacting, Chima, who is also the chairman of the Joint Consultative Council, told the governor that they would return to their base and report to their wider membership the result of their interaction with him for necessary action to be taken for or against the proposed strike.

The vice chancellor, who said the proposed strike is not politically motivated, stated that the school authorities would have addressed the matter on their own if the new fees structure had come into effect.

The pro-chancellor reiterated his plea to the workers to shelve the strike so that, among others, ABSU would not be seen to be the first university in the country to revert to strike four months after the nationwide industrial action by varsity workers was called off.