The Federal Government has been served with a final warning by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
The JAC has threatened an indefinite strike if the long-standing salary issues are not resolved within the next three weeks.
Demands from the unions include the return of four months’ worth of wages that were withheld, as well as better wages, earned allowances, and the restoration of the government’s 2009 accords.
It follows the 2022 university union strike, during which the Ministry of Labor and Employment implemented the “No Work, No Pay” policy.
The president of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, and the general secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, released a joint statement in which they disclosed that the government had been served a 10-day ultimatum which expired on July 26, 2024, to resolve the outstanding salaries.
The threat of university and interuniversity center closures loomed large if this did not happen.
In a meeting that took place on September 12, 2024, JAC declared that the government had three weeks from September 17, 2024, to complete all of its obligations, including putting into action the agreements reached during the negotiations in August 20, 2022.
If these demands are not met, an indefinite strike will be instigated, Ibrahim threatened.
Unions brought to the attention of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) that President Bola Tinubu had already authorized the release of the withheld wages on July 18, 2024, during their talks at the National Minimum Wage meeting.
Frustrated by the lack of payment despite the President’s promises and later consent to release the funds, the unions are becoming increasingly frustrated.
