MEMBERS of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have initiated an indefinite nationwide strike across public university campuses to demand the immediate release of their salaries, which have been withheld for four months.
In a statement released yesterday, co-signed by SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi, the two unions expressed their dismay at the lack of action from the government despite multiple ultimatums.
The unions instructed their members in all public universities and inter-university centers nationwide to “hold a joint congress on their respective campuses on Monday, October 28, 2024, and commence an indefinite, comprehensive, and total strike action, as no concessions will be accepted.”
On September 17, 2023, the Joint Action Committee of SSANU and NASU issued a three-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to settle the outstanding salaries of their members or face industrial action.
Previously, the two unions had conducted several protests and warning strikes in response to the eight months of withheld salaries.
During these warning strikes, no administrative activities took place at any public university in Nigeria, with non-academic staff locking hostels and university gates and cutting off electricity supplies.
The unions criticized the Federal Government for paying withheld salaries to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while neglecting the non-academic unions.
All unions had previously gone on an eight-month strike in 2022 to advocate for improved welfare packages.
The administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari responded with a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ directed at the unions, but last October, President Bola Tinubu approved the release of withheld salaries to ASUU members.
SSANU and NASU have accused the Federal Government of bias and discrimination, highlighting that they were not granted the full eight months of salaries that their academic counterparts received.
In April, then-Education Minister Tahir Mamman attributed the non-payment of the full amounts to a “communication problem,” insisting that SSANU and NASU members were not being discriminated against.