The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has said that it will embark on a nationwide industrial action on Thursday, July 4, along with sister union, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities Associated Institutions if the four months salaries withheld by government were not paid to members.
In a communique issued at the end of the 48th Regular National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), held on Thursday 27th and Friday 28th June, 2024 at the University of Benin, Benin City, Edo State, SSANU said that government has failed to failed to keep its promise of paying the outstanding salaries.
Government had ordered the payment of the salaries of the university staff withheld in 2022 following their industrial action to protest the government’s inability to honour a collective bargaining agreement willingly signed by all parties.
However, in the communique signed by its National President, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, SSANU expressed utmost dismay at what it described a unprecedented level of government’s insensitivity and deliberate resolve to cause chaos in the university system by adopting the divide and rule policy to set unions on a collision course through preferential treatment of one union over others.
The communique read: “While we do not begrudge the payment made to our colleagues, we expected same gesture to be extended to SSANU and NASU that legally complied with all procedures before embarking on the industrial action.
“Despite all promises and media hypes by the Ministers of Education and Labour, including the House of Representatives to pay these arrears, government has continued to dribble SSANU, even after the mutual agreement to suspend the one-week warning strike in March this year.
“NEC in session deliberated on the matter and unanimously approved a long drawn comprehensive industrial action after concurrence with the Joint Action Committee meeting of SSANU and NASU scheduled for Thursday 4th July, 2024, if government fails to pay the four-month salary arrears.”
On the implementation of wage award to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal, SSANU lamented the inability of the federal government to sustain the payment of the N35,000 wage award, adding that while payment has ceased for three months now, most states are yet to effect payment of the wage award to members.
SSANU urged the federal government to immediately resume the payment of the wage award alongside the accrued three months arrears without further delay.
It also called on state governments that are yet to commence payment of the award to start payment with the arrears accruing therefrom.
On the new minimum wage, SSANU noted that since the issue of minimum wage is on the Exclusive Legislative List and not on the Concurrent List, the federal government is expected to decide on an acceptable minimum wage.
“SSANU therefore rejects in strong terms the proposal of the Southern Governors’ Forum in negotiating the new minimum wage with their respective state labour centres,” the union said.
SSANU said that if the new minimum wage is not fixed urgently, it will join forces with other labour unions to shut down the system.
While applauding the inauguration of Governing Councils of Federal Universities, the union called on the government to as a matter of urgency reconstitute a new committee for the renegotiation of the SSANU/FGN 2009 Agreement as the issue is long overdue.
Onyebuchi Ezigbo
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