SSANU, NASU announce seven-day warning strike over unpaid salaries
…Allege non-payment of strike period salaries despite Tinubu’s intervention
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have declared a seven-day warning strike commencing on March 18, 2024, in a bid to pressure the Federal Government into paying four months of withheld salaries.
These payments stem from the aftermath of the 2022 nationwide strike. The joint action committee of the two unions, following a meeting in Akure, resolved to take this step, which was announced by SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim in Abuja.
The unions have exhausted other means of communication, including protest letters, to no avail.
Ibrahim, in his address to the press, emphasised that the warning strike is a last resort action and warned of more severe measures if the government fails to address their grievances.
The unions have expressed their discontent, accusing the Federal Government of treating their members with disdain.
Despite President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the payment of the withheld salaries, SSANU, NASU, and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) claim that they have not received their dues for the strike period.
The unions had previously given a one-week ultimatum two weeks prior to this announcement. The looming strike threatens to disrupt the academic and administrative operations of universities across Nigeria, highlighting the ongoing tensions between university staff unions and the Federal Government.
The statement added, “If nothing is done by the Federal Government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decisions on the matter.”
The fresh development comes on the heels of the unions accusing FG of treating their members with “disdain.”
University workers who went on strike in 2022 have yet to receive their withheld salaries, despite a directive from President Bola Tinubu to pay them.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have issued a one-week ultimatum to the government to pay their salaries.
The SSANU chief has accused the government of abandoning the unions.
“We have to speak like this because we have been clearly shown that we do not matter in the system. But we all know that there is no university that can function without the non-teaching staff because we are majorly populated by professionals. We own the engine of the administration of every university. They are treating this segment of staff with some disdain. It does not speak well of the system,” he said during the show.
SSANU and NASU said they have done everything within their powers to prevail on their members to maintain industrial peace and tranquility.
The statement expressed gratitude towards the Federal Government for fulfilling their academic counterpart obligations.
However, it emphasised the importance of also compensating their members. The unions warned that if the government failed to pay them, they could no longer ensure a peaceful working environment on the campuses.
