University Staff Unions Announce Warning Strike Over Unpaid Salaries

The University Senior Staff Association and the Non-Academic Staff Union initiated a seven-day cautionary strike on Monday, expressing discontent over their unpaid salaries for four months.

This decision was made public in Abuja on Monday, after the unions’ joint action committee convened in Akure, Ondo State, the previous Thursday and Friday.

Mohammed Ibrahim, the President of the SSANU, during a press briefing, shared the meeting’s outcomes, highlighting the necessity of the strike. He pointed out the government’s refusal to settle the unpaid salaries from their 2022 national strike as the primary grievance.

Despite settling the dues of the Academic Staff Union of Universities for the same period, the government overlooked the SSANU and NASU, sparking further discontent.

On February 13, 2024, both unions voiced their protest through letters addressed to the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the Education Minister, Tahir Mamman, criticizing the neglect of non-academic staff in the salary disbursement.

The unions articulated in their statement, “While SSANU is not averse to the payment of the withheld salary to our sister union, ASUU, it however, views this action as a clear violation and breach of the post-strike agreement with the government on non-victimisation of our members who participated in the strike. We strongly oppose this discriminatory practice which we view as the government’s open invitation to an industrial crisis. Credible information available to us has it that the directive of Mr President is for all university-based unions to be paid four months’ salary. The NEC therefore suspects saboteurs in this government bent on destabilising and destroying the good intent of Mr. President towards sustaining industrial peace in the university system. NEC in session, therefore, calls on the relevant authorities of government to immediately implement the directive of Mr. President by paying our members the four months withheld salaries, failing which NEC has approved a one-week warning strike in conjunction with our sister union in JAC, NASU.”

Moreover, they urged the government to prioritize the renegotiation of the national minimum wage, as the existing wage has been rendered inadequate by severe inflation affecting the nation.