Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have commenced an indefinite nationwide strike within campuses of public universities to demand the immediate release of their four months’ withheld salaries.
In a statement on Sunday co-signed by SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi, the two unions said it is “appalling that despite several ultimatums issued to the government, no positive result has come from the government.”
The two unions directed their members in all public universities and inter-university centres throughout the country to “hold a joint congress in their respective campuses on Monday, October 28, 2024, and proceed on an indefinite, comprehensive and total strike action as no concession should be given in any guise.”
On September 17, 2023, the Joint Action Committee of SSANU and NASU handed the Federal Government a three-week ultimatum to pay the outstanding withheld salaries of their members or risk an industrial action.
Before now, the two unions had staged several protests and warning strikes to protest their eight months’ withheld salaries by the Federal Government.
During the warning strikes, nothing moved administratively within any public university in Nigeria as hostels and varsity gates were locked up and electricity supply was cut off by disgruntled non-academic staff.
The two unions berated the Federal Government for paying withheld salaries to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while neglecting the non-academic unions.
All the unions had embarked on an eight-month strike in 2022 to press home some of their demands including a better welfare package. The administration of then President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the unions, but President Bola Tinubu last October approved the release of withheld salaries to ASUU members.
The joint action committee of non-teaching staff unions in federal universities has directed its members to proceed on an indefinite nationwide strike.
The strike, which begins on October 28, follows the non-payment of its members’ four months withheld salaries. The JAC comprises the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU). The committee in Abuja issued a circular to all branch chairpersons in the universities and inter-university centres.
The general secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, and the president of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, signed the document.
The federal government, under President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, had withheld the salaries of university staff who participated in an eight-month strike in 2022.
In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved the release of four months of the withheld salaries of members of ASUU. Left out in the payments, SSANU and NASU alleged unfair treatment and discrimination against non-academic staff by the government.
In July, SSANU and NASU planned a pre-strike protest to evoke a federal response on the unpaid salaries. The unions have since been at loggerheads with the federal government, initiating talks with the education and labour ministries.
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The SSANU-NASU committee said it has issued multiple notices to seek redress on the matter but payment has yet to be made.
“Because of this, the leadership of JAC has decided that the effective date for the strike be moved to midnight of Sunday, 27th October 2024,” the committee’s circular reads in part.
“This is to allow the branch officers of NASU to be on the ground before commencing the strike. We have to do this strategic change in timing for effective co-ordination and for both unions to be on the same page. We express our deepest appreciation for your steadfast commitment to the leadership and we affirm our determination to persist in this struggle until ultimate victory is secured.”
A strike by non-teaching staff, who oversee administrative operations like admissions, examinations, maintenance, and security in federal universities, typically disrupts academic activities.
SSANU and NASU accused the Federal Government of unfair treatment and discrimination by failing to pay them the full eight months’ salaries like their academic counterparts. Then Education Minister Tahir Mamman had in April blamed a “communication problem” for the non-payment of the full amount to SSANU and NASU members, whilst he insisted that they were not discriminated against.
