Non-academic staff of universities declare nationwide strike

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have declared a nationwide strike.

In a statement signed by Mohammed Ibrahim, national president of SSANU, and Peters Adeyemi, NASU general secretary, the two unions said on Sunday that their action was attributed to the government witheld salaries.

In 2022, the unions embarked on a strike action for eight months. The unions later called off the strike following an order by the industrial court. However, due to the government’s ‘no Work, no pay’ policy, the salaries of non-academic staff were witheld for the period they were on strike.

In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu directed the payment of four of the eight months withheld salaries. But the salaries were paid to the academic staff members, with non-academic staff members claiming they were not paid.

“It is quite appalling that we have issued several ultimatums thereafter with no positive result from the government, it is therefore obvious that the government is not positively disposed to our rightful and legitimate demands in spite of several interactions, dialogues, exchange of correspondences and assurances of payment all to no avail,” the unions said.

“We have exercised considerable and prolonged patience, allowing multiple deadlines to pass without receiving a satisfactory response to our demands by the Government,” part of the statement read