Hopes of Federal and State-owned universities reopening soon dimmed Friday as the non-teaching staff in the varsities announced their plan to begin a nationwide strike from February 15, 2021.
The universities have been on strike since March last year due to strike action by the teaching staff under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
ASUU announced last December it would call off its strike, but the non-teaching alleged they were not included in the government’s discussions with the teachers.
The strike is in protest against the government’s decisions on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System(IPPIS), sharing formula of the N40 billion earned academic allowances and non-payment of arrears of the new minimum wage.
The announcement of the strike comes after a three-day nationwide protest which failed to elicit the government’s positive response to their demands.
The workers, acting under the Joint Action Committee, which is made up of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) went on the warning strike in protest against the government’s failure to honour the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed with the unions on 20th October, 2020.
The committee said other contentious issues that informed the decision to embark on a nationwide industrial action included inconsistencies in IPPIS payment and the delay in the renegotiation of the FGN/ ASUU/SSANU 2009 Agreement.
They also listed the non-payment of retirement benefits to former members, non-constitution of visitation panels to universities, poor funding of universities, teaching staff usurping the headship of non-teaching units, as other reasons for their action.
In an address to journalists in Abuja, the JAC of SSANU and NASU led by the National President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim and General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, noted that out of the seven issues under contention, only one was partially resolved.
“The Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU had been very circumspect about embarking on strike action. It has never been our style to undertake strike actions at the drop of a hat.
“Sadly, it would appear that our non-belligerent modes of engagement have been taken for weakness and our belief in civic engagement and dialogue has been taken for granted. It is against this backdrop and in the democratic spirit that the leadership of JAC of NASU and SSANU threw back the decision after the three-day protests to the various memberships across Branches on the way forward and the resolutions have been overwhelming.
“The resolutions across the Branches have been overwhelming and convey the disenchantment of members over the sorry state of affairs.
“The outcome of the resolutions across the Branches are as follows: NASU – 90 percent in support of strike, 10 percent against strike; SSANU – 83 percent in support of the strike, 11 percent against strike, and six percent indifferent.
“It is in line with the resolution of our members nationwide, that the leadership of the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU hereby resolve as follows – that members of NASU and SSANU shall embark on an indefinite, comprehensive and total strike with effect from midnight of Friday, 5th February 2021.
“That two weeks’ notice effective from today, Friday 22nd January 2021, is hereby given to Government and relevant stakeholders of this development.”
