Unions representing non-academic staff members of Nigerian universities announced on Sunday they will embark on a nationwide protest starting Thursday, July 18, 2024, due to the withholding of their four-month salaries. Prior to this, all branches under the Joint Action Committee will hold protests at each of their locations on Tuesday.
The workers, organized under the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), stated that their negotiations with government officials had broken down. This was disclosed in a circular jointly signed by NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi and SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim, obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday.
The circular directed all branches to hold a mandatory general meeting today, July 8, 2024, to inform members about the government’s insensitivity to their plight.
According to the unions, their actions are in response to the Federal Government’s failure to pay their withheld four-month salaries despite multiple meetings with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Labour.
“The national body of the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU met on Thursday, 4th July 2024 to appraise and take a position on the current situation regarding the withheld four months’ salaries and other grievances of our members in the University and Inter-University Centres.
“Similarly, the National JAC, on invitation, met with the Honourable Minister of Education; Honourable Minister of State for Education; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education; other top officials of the Ministry and National Universities Commission.
“Unfortunately, after the engagement, the Minister of Education has not shown any convincing commitment to the payment of our withheld salaries and resolution of other pending grievances of JAC of the two unions.
“It is also disheartening that the JAC was also at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and as usual, the Minister of State was not on seat to receive us, as we were informed that she had an urgent call from the Villa.
“The Permanent Secretary, who stood in for her, could not make any commitment on the issues raised. In view of this disappointment and the government’s failure to address the grievances of NASU and SSANU, JAC has decided on a series of industrial actions which include the following:
“All branches of NASU and SSANU should mandatorily hold a general meeting on Monday, 8th July 2024 to sensitise members to the insensitivity of the government to our plight.
“A one-day protest should hold on Tuesday, 9th July at each branch simultaneously. Every branch should ensure that all members fully participate in the protest and the press or media is adequately mobilised.
“A national protest, which will hold in Abuja on Thursday, 18th July 2024, after which JAC will meet to announce a date when the strike action will commence. Further information will be communicated appropriately,” the circular read.
The Nigerian government had withheld the salaries of both academic and non-academic staff in Nigerian universities for participating in an industrial action that halted the universities for eight months in 2022. In October, President Bola Tinubu ordered the payment of four of the eight months withheld salaries for the academic staff, excluding the non-teaching staff.
This decision has reignited tensions between the non-academic staff union and the government. Both SSANU and NASU have opposed the ‘selective payments’ and demanded inclusion. However, only the academic staff received the four months’ salaries paid in February.
