By JACINTA NWACHUKWU

Staff members of National Mathematical Centre (NMC) have protested their exclusion from the N50 billion Earned Academic Allowances (EAAs) approved by the Federal Government for University workers.

The workers, under the auspices of Congress of University Academics, NMC chapter (CONUA-NMC), raised their complaints in a letter to the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.

A copy of the letter signed by Comrades Awogbemi Adeyeye and Okorie Okike, Chairman and Secretary of the union, respectively was made available to newsmen in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the federal government recently released the sum of N50 billion to universities as earned allowances. It is to be shared between academic and non-academic staff.

The union leaders urged the minister to use his good offices to ensure payment of the earned allowance for all deserving academic staff members of the NMC from 2013 till date.

They equally demanded the payment of their Field Trip, SIWES Allowance, Postgraduate Study Grants Allowance and other allowances.

“Sir, we are fully aware that the current Minister of Education is a man of justice who carefully studies every case on its merit.

“In the light of this, CONUA-NMC therefore requests that you use your good office to take necessary action for the implementation of the contents of the memo from National Salaries, Incomes & Wages Commission

“The memo confirmed, without any ambiguity, that NMC academic staffers are entitled to be paid EAAS based on ASUU 2009 Agreement with Federal Government,’ the union leaders wrote.

To further justify their entitlement to the allowances, like in other regular universities, they said NMC is an Inter-university centre.

According to them, NMC is saddled with the mandate of improving the teaching and learning of mathematical sciences at all strata of educational system in Nigeria.

“One of the core responsibilities of the Centre is to train high level personnel in Mathematical Sciences.

‘This responsibility is carried out through the conduct of Foundation Postgraduate Courses (FPCs) and Research Oriented Courses (ROCs) for Postgraduate Students and Lecturers in Tertiary Institutions (including all the Federal Universities).

‘The direct implication of this is that the Centre serves as a service provider to all the Universities in Nigeria,’ they said

The union leaders also contended that, since NMC has its peculiarities and all its academic staff members are scientists, strictly exposed to laboratory hazards, they should be paid hazard allowance.

According to them, the non-academic workers in the Centre were being paid hazard allowance along with their salaries on monthly basis, therefore, there is no justification for exclusion of their members.

“We make it bold to say that the academic staff members at NMC make enormous contributions to national development and as such should be treated on the same page with the University lecturers.

“Sir, we shall be looking forward to seeing you take necessary action that will permanently resolve this painful exclusion once and for all,” they said. (NAN)