The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has issued a warning of an impending indefinite strike if their unpaid salaries are not settled within three weeks.
The unions’ demands include the payment of four months’ withheld wages, better remuneration packages, earned allowances, and the full implementation of the 2009 agreements made with the government.
The Federal Government had previously implemented the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy through the Ministry of Labour and Employment after the four university-based unions went on an extended strike in 2022.
In a joint statement signed by SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Prince Peters Adeyemi, the unions highlighted that a 10-day ultimatum had been given to the government, which expired on July 26, 2024. They threatened to shut down universities and inter-university centres if the outstanding salaries were not paid by then.
Despite the six-week period since the ultimatum passed, the government has yet to meet the unions’ demands. The statement also mentioned that President Bola Tinubu had approved the payment of the withheld salaries on July 18, 2024, during the National Minimum Wage meeting, following discussions with the leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
