The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, has insisted that they will not call off the industrial strike it embarked on Monday until their salary arrears are paid by the Federal Government.
IVNTVNEWS had on Monday reported that the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU embarked on strike. The unions are demanding the payment of their salary arrears of four months by the Federal Government.
Notwithstanding calls for the unions to stop the industrial action, SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, has insisted that the strike must go on. He stated that the unions can only call off the strike when their demands are met.
He said, “So, it’s not the issue of meeting. The issue is that we want payment and that every procedure has been followed.
“They can just simply direct this payment. And I assure you in less than 24 hours, we can just refer back to our principals and this strike will be suspended.
“Well, assurances are not something that we have not received before. So, assurances from politicians and assurances from government officials are not new things to us. But the mandate that we have from our members is that this strike is totally indefinite. And that we will only resume when we get the alerts,” Ibrahim said.
Reports from across the nation’s universities stated that academic activities have been crippled in the institutions.
Recall that in March, the unions embarked on a seven-day warning strike. It started on March 18, 2024, over the non-payment of their salaries.
A development that led President Bola Tinubu to direct the payment of the withheld salaries for university workers. The arrears were those owed to the striking workers in 2022.
Recall also that in 2022, SSANU and NASU went on an eight-month strike to press home their demands. Among which included better welfare packages.
The refusal of the unions to call off the strike led to the then-administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to invoke a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’.
However, in following the October 2023 strike, President Tinubu approved the release of four of the eight months withheld salaries for ASUU members.
Months after that, SSANU and NASU downed tools after a three-week ultimatum. They accused the Federal Government of unfulfilled promises and disdainful treatment to its members.
source: Daily Post
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