SSANU,NASU Started Strike Today, Ground Varsities
A national strike has been initiated by the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) in response to what the unions have characterised as unequal treatment and inequity in the payment of salaries withheld by the Federal Government.
President Mohammed Ibrahim of the SSANU informed reporters on Monday that the strike has “absolutely” begun.
“Everyone working in the administration of public universities in Nigeria has resigned as of today (Monday), and until something is done, nothing will change in the next seven days. This includes the registry, bursary, works and maintenance, security, and students’ affairs departments.”
Despite some unofficial attempts, he said, no official from the government has contacted the non-academic unions, and the promises they have made cannot be trusted.
When President Bola Tinubu ordered that varsity union members be paid their dues for 2022, Ibrahim felt “saboteurs in his government” and couldn’t understand why some government officials weren’t totally complying.
In a change from the responsiveness displayed by former Labour Minister Chris Ngige, the SSANU President claimed that despite a seven-day notice being issued last Monday, the disgruntled unions had not been contacted by Labour Minister Nkiruka Onyejeocha.
Ibrahim warned that SSANU and NASU would return to their arsenals and determine the government’s next move if it does not address union demands following today’s seven-day warning strike.
Not Paid Registrars, Bursars, and VCs
In a letter dated Monday, March 11, 2024, SSANU and NASU threatened to cut power to university dorms and other facilities nationwide unless the federal government met their demands by today, March 18, 2024.
Some of the members of the SSANU, such as the registrars, bursars, and vice chancellors, have not received their 2022 arrears payments, according to the president of the union.
According to him, “shutting down the university goes definitely beyond how it will affect the students since it’s everybody;” he went on to say that everyone would be affected by the lack of energy, water, security, student housing, and administration.
The head of SSANU had previously scolded the federal government for ignoring other unions, including as NASU and SSANU, in favour of releasing withheld salary to ASUU.
A greater welfare package was one of several requests made by the unions during their eight-month strike in 2022. After then-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration used the “No Work, No Pay policy” to punish the unions, but in October of last year, Tinubu cleared the way for ASUU members to get four of the eight months’ worth of pay that had been withheld.
According to Ibrahim, there was a need to take action as all means of communication had been unsuccessful.
Despite the President’s waivers guaranteeing payment to all unions participating in the 2022 industrial action, he claimed that the Accountant General’s office, via the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) office, treated SSANU and NASU with contempt.
That the institution is just one link in a chain and that “you don’t treat a group differently and others indifferently” led Ibrahim to conclude that priority had been misplaced throughout the incident.