The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) have both threathened to embark on an indefinite strike over what it says was the Federal Government’s nonchalant attitude towards implementing the 2009 agreements it signed with the two unions. Solomon Alfa, National Vice President of SSANU for the north, disclosed this during a briefing with journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
Comrade Solomon Alfa, stated that JAC was demanding the sum of N30 billion from federal government for non-payment to the non-teaching staff in order to close the gap it created by the discriminatory allocations. He said that the Federal Government had earlier disbursed N25 billion which was allocated to federal universities in 2019, with 80% of the sum allocated to the teaching staff (ASUU) while only N5bn 20% to the entire non-teaching staff were included.
The unions are currently on a five-day warning strike, which commenced on Monday. Reports say that non-academic activities at the Federal University, Lokoja (FUL) have been immobilized by the industrial action embarked upon by the unions.
Chairman of Joint Action Committee (JAC)/SSANU at the university, Comrade Uche Onyedi, explained that the warning strike broke out over issues bordering on Earned Allowances, non reinstatement of staff laid off from universities’ staff schools by the federal government and the issue of renegotiation of its 2009 agreement with the government.
According to him, the union will begin indefinite strike action if the federal government failed to address their grievances at the end of the ongoing warning strike action.
Also. the shutdown of non-academic activities within the University of Ibadan has been reported. Chairman of SSANU in UI, Wale Akinremi, revealed that the unions are committed about going on an indefinite strike except the government meets their demands.
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