Unpaid Salaries: SSANU, NASU Declare Seven-Day Warning Strike Against FG

Eko Hot Blog reports that the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have declared a seven-day warning strike to protest the withholding of their four-month salaries.

This action follows a meeting of their joint action committee held in Akure, Ondo State, last Thursday and Friday.

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Mohammed Ibrahim, the SSANU National President, read the communiqué of the meeting to journalists, stating, “The action became necessary as the Federal Government had refused to pay them the four months salary withheld as a result of their nationwide strike in 2022.”

While the Federal Government recently released the withheld four months’ salary to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which was also on strike in 2022, it ignored SSANU and NASU.

The unions expressed their dissatisfaction in the communiqué, stating, “While SSANU is not averse to the payment of the withheld salary to our sister union, ASUU, it however, views this action as a clear violation and breach of the post-strike agreement with the government on non-victimisation of our members who participated in the strike.”

They strongly opposed this discriminatory practice, asserting, “We strongly oppose this discriminatory practice which we view as the government’s open invitation to an industrial crisis. Credible information available to us has it that the directive of Mr President is for all university-based unions to be paid four months’ salary.”

The unions suspect saboteurs within the government who are bent on destabilizing and destroying the President’s intent towards sustaining industrial peace in the university system. “NEC in session, therefore, calls on the relevant authorities of government to immediately implement the directive of Mr. President by paying our members the four months withheld salaries, failing which NEC has approved a one-week warning strike in conjunction with our sister union in JAC, NASU,” the communiqué stated.

Additionally, the unions demanded that the government expedite action on the renegotiation of the new national minimum wage, as the current national minimum wage has been rendered useless by the hyperinflation ravaging the country.

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The warning strike declared by SSANU and NASU is a direct response to the Federal Government’s refusal to pay their withheld salaries, despite releasing funds to ASUU for the same purpose. The unions view this as a breach of the post-strike agreement and a discriminatory practice that could lead to an industrial crisis in the university system.

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