By Kayode Oyero

Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), on Sunday, ended their seven-day warning strike.

In a circular to branch chairmen at public universities all over the coutry, SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, directed SSANU and NASU members to resume work from Monday, March 25, 2024.

One-Week Shutdown
The two unions began a seven-day warning strike on Monday, March 18, 2024 over withheld salaries with workers in registry, bursary, works and maintenance, security, and students’ affairs withdrawing their services.

Our correspondents who visited public universities across the country observed that nothing moved administratively within any public university in Nigeria as hostels and varsity gates were locked up and electricity supply cut off.

Both SSANU and NASU are protesting withheld salaries by the Federal Government. The two unions berated the Federal Government for paying withheld salaries to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while neglecting the non-academic unions.

All the unions had embarked on an eight-month strike in 2022 to press home some of their demands including a better welfare package. The administration of then President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the unions but President Bola Tinubu last October approved the release of four of the eight months withheld salaries.

SSANU and NASU accused the Federal Government of unfair treatement and discrimination by failing to pay them like their academic counterparts.

The unions, after an initial notice on March 11, 2024, made do their threat a week later, shutting down hostels, power supply, security and administrative works in universities across the country, a development that has been heavily criticised by the Labour Minister, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, who described the unions’ action as a total disregard for the Federal Government’s concerted effort to address their concerns.

‘Next Actions To Be Taken’
However, SSANU and NASU said upon evaluation of the seven-day warning strike, “the tempo of the warning strike has been massive, comprehensive and total in most of our universities and inter-universities centres”.

They saluted the “dedication, resoluteness and loyalty of members to the cause of the union’s struggle for the payment of four months’ withheld salaries”.

“Consequently, you are hereby informed that the seven-day warning strike shall end at midnight of Sunday, 24th March 2024 and normal work will resume on Monday, 25th March 2024,” the circular partly read.

SSANU and NASU assured members that the struggle for the payment of the withheld salaries are ongoing.

The unions promised to continue “meaningful engagement with the relevant Government Agencies in both Executive and Legislative Arms” and notify members of the next line of action(s) to be taken.

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