College Of Education Teachers’ Union Threatens Strike Over TASCE Crisis

The College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) has requested for an urgent meeting with Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State to resolve the lingering conflict at the Tai Solarin College of Education (TASCE) in Omu-Ijebu.

After failing to get an audience with the governor, the union stated its “endurance is now on the verge of breaking” and that it may have to resort to strike action.

Olusegun Lana, the union’s national vice president, told reporters at a press conference in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, that the meeting with the governor would allow them to bring to the table win-win ideas that would help him consolidate his administration’s commendable efforts to revamp the College.

Lana noted various depressing situations that Abiodun’s administration inherited, including an accumulation of unpaid fractions of salary spanning 76 months, unremitted pension contributions, and advancement without financial consequences, among others.

Lana, backed by other union officials, claimed that TASCE had been subjected to immeasurable misery as a result of neglect and inadequate support by successive administrations.

He stated that the current government has relieved tensions and given optimism to the school by ensuring that personnel were paid on time, bringing the implementation rate to 75%.

Lana, who is also the southwest zone coordinator, stated that the union believed in collective bargaining based on constructive participation, mutual respect, and great care for the system’s smooth operation.

“Beyond correspondences, we are seriously seeking the governor’s audience to present well-thought-out ideas that can solve the lingering issues.
“This is because we had in the past written letters that were probably not delivered to the appropriate desk, or not given the attention it deserved because such were not brought to his attention, or maybe they were lost in transit.

“If we have demands and also solutions to such demands in such a way that is so sensitive to the financial obligations of the state, we are of the strong opinion that Mr. Governor will listen to us; it is just a burden of having the political will to solve them and we do not have any ‘Plan B”.