The Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has given the Federal Government a 14-day ultimatum to pay the arrears of four months’ salaries withheld between May and August 2022. If the demands are not met, the unions have threatened to commence an indefinite strike.
In a letter dated June 19, 2024, addressed to the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, and obtained by the Nigerian Tribune, the unions demanded immediate payment of the withheld salaries. The letter was co-signed by SSANU President Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim and Secretary-General Comrade Peters Adeyemi.
“The Honourable Minister would recall that the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU embarked on a one-week warning strike between March 18 and March 24, 2024, to protest the denial of the arrears of four months’ salaries withheld between May and August 2022,” the letter stated. “We wish to express our regrets and dismay that up till date, the withheld salaries have not been paid to our members.”
The unions criticized the government’s “deafening silence” and failure to act despite several letters and a warning strike earlier this year. They described the lack of response as an act of “insincerity and neglect” towards the members’ “yearnings and aspirations.”
NASU and SSANU have warned that failure to resolve the issue within the given timeframe will result in an indefinite strike, severely impacting the functioning of universities across the country.
