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The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions have called off their strike actions.
What happened:The unions made the decision after a brief meeting with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, in Abuja on Saturday, August 20, 2022.
Recall that the unions had embarked on the strike back in March, few weeks after their sister union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) down tools.
Strike called off: In a chat with Daily Trust on Saturday, President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, disclosed that the unions have decided to shelve the strike for two months to give the government time to resolve their grievances.
He hoped that the Federal Government would use the window to implement all the agreements reached by all the parties.
Ibrahim's word: ”We have only suspended the strike for 60 days. This is just to open a window for the federal government to fulfill all its agreements with us. We will resume the strike after 60 days if the government fails on its promises.”
Meanwhile, the suspension is expected to take effect from Wednesday, August 24, 2022.
Govt's pledge to unions: Recall that the Minister had said that the Federal Government has committed N50 billion to pay earned allowances for members of SSANU, NASU, and ASUU.
Little respite for students: Despite this development, academic activities in government-owned universities are expected to remain limited as ASUU has refused to agree to certain proposals by the government.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, cited the “no work, no pay” rule invoked by the federal government, coupled with the lack of commitment to clear the salary backlogs of lecturers as part of the reasons the union has refused to suspend the industrial action.