Varsities’ non-academic staff unions suspend strike

The three non-academic staff unions in the university system have suspended their nine-day old industrial action.

The suspension of the strike by unions that included Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) is expected to kick-start restoration of full academic activities in the universities across the country.

The unions had on Monday, September 11, 2017, embarked on total and indefinite strike to press for the implementation of the 12 demands including the 2009, 2012 and 2017 agreements between the unions and the Federal Government.

The statement on the suspension of the strike, which was jointly signed by Presidents of NASU, Anthony Ani; SSANU, Samson Igwoke; and NAAT, Sani Suleiman, added that it would review the progress of the implementation of the agreement and may likely review its position afterwards if it is not satisfied with the progress of the execution by government.

“The negotiations we have had since the beginning of the strike have developed a template which we hope will be a panacea to the continued conflicts between the university based non-teaching staff unions and the Federal Government. We have developed an actionable template with specific timeframes to implement salient aspects of the agreement.

“Based on the foregoing and following exhaustive and extensive consultations with our various union organs, we hereby announce the suspension of the strike embarked upon by the Joint Action Committee of NAAT, NASU and SSANU, on the understanding that the time lines agreed with the Federal Government on the various issues are met,” the statement said.

However, the unions said they are resuming work on Monday, September 25, 2017.

It reiterated that the unions would come back in a month to review the level of compliance with the agreement and shall not hesitate to resume the strike if government reneges on the agreements reached or delays in any aspect.