EDUCATION
Once Again, Universities Face Shutdown as Workers Begin Strike Today
The Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has announced an indefinite strike, commencing today (Monday), which will halt all university activities nationwide.
SSANU National President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Prince Peters Adeyemi indicated that an ultimatum given to the Federal Government regarding withheld salaries expired at midnight on Sunday. Their demands include the payment of four months of withheld salaries, improved compensation, earned allowances, and the fulfillment of the 2009 agreements with the government.
The Ministry of Labour and Employment previously enforced a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy when university-based unions, including NASU and SSANU, went on a prolonged strike in 2022. While President Bola Tinubu approved the payment of half the withheld salaries for academic staff in October, non-teaching staff were excluded, prompting protests and ultimatums from the unions. Despite multiple warnings and strikes, the four-month salaries for non-teaching staff remain unpaid.
The unions have now directed all branches in federal and state universities, as well as inter-university centers, to join the strike. The statement calls for state-owned universities to incorporate any local demands into the action.
The unions issued a final ultimatum last week, urging compliance with the agreement signed with the Federal Government in August 2022, which included the payment of outstanding salaries. At a national protest in July, the unions gave the government 10 days to address these issues, but received no positive response.
SSANU members oversee critical campus operations like water, electricity, communication, internet, security, and finance, leading to concerns that the strike will bring universities to a standstill. “If the government pays this money today, we will call off the strike,” Ibrahim stated.
The strike begins amid a transition in the Ministry of Education, as President Tinubu recently directed outgoing Minister Prof. Mamman Tahir to hand over to incoming Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa on Wednesday. Efforts to obtain a response from the Federal Ministry of Education were unsuccessful at the time of this report.
The unions initially launched a one-week warning strike in March after letters to the education minister and the President’s Chief of Staff went unanswered. In July, nationwide protests were held, but despite a seven-day ultimatum issued earlier this month, the withheld salaries remain unpaid.
In a September statement, NASU and SSANU expressed frustration at the government’s failure to act despite assurances and alleged presidential approval for the payments in July. The unions, after several failed ultimatums, resolved that if the four-month salaries and other commitments were not fulfilled, they would embark on indefinite industrial action.
The unions noted that President Tinubu’s approval for the salary payments, confirmed at a national wage meeting in July, has yet to be implemented by government officials.
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