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SSANU, NASU to commence indefinite strike, Feb. 5
Modupe Shodeinde
The non-teaching staff of federal universities have declared plans to commence a nationwide strike on February 5, over the non-implementation of the agreement entered with the Federal Government.
The non-teaching staff is under the aegis of Senior Staff Association Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Educational Institutions (NASU).
The NASU General Secretary, Peter Adeyemi, confirmed this strike in a joint news conference by the leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the unions on Friday in Abuja.
According to Adeyemi, JAC has given the Federal Government up to February 5, to address its demands or face an indefinite industrial action.
“In line with the resolution of our members nationwide, that the leadership of the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU hereby resolved that members of NASU and SSANU shall embark on an indefinite.
“This is comprehensive and a total strike with effect from midnight of Friday, February 5, 2021.
“That the two weeks’ notice, effective from today, January 22 is hereby given to the government and relevant stakeholders of this development,’’ he said.
Mr Adeyemi said the demands of the unions include; inconsistencies in the implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), non-payment of earned allowances and non-payment of arrears of national minimum wage.
Others were delay in the renegotiation of FG/NASU and SSANU 2009 agreement, non-payment of retirement benefits of outgone members, neglect and poor funding of state universities.
He also noted that the unions were aggrieved over the government’s failure to honour the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on October 20, 2020.
Mr. Adeyemi added that only one out of seven issues has been partially resolved by the government, three months after the MoU was signed.
He, however, expressed dismay over the way and manner in which the N40 billion released by the government as Earned Allowances was disbursed to the advantage of the academic staff.
“Our stand is that sharing money based on unions in the universities by the Federal Ministry of Education should stop.
“Our stand is that Federal Government must halt the release of funds for Earned Allowances until the outcome of the forensic audit conducted on the previous payments,” he said
