Varsity unions begin warning strike tomorrow

The three non-academic staff unions in the universities, National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Non Academic Staff Union of Universities and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), are scheduled to begin a five-day warning strike from tomorrow, Monday.

The unions stated in Abuja, yesterday through its Joint Action Committee (JAC) that the warning strike, which will last till Friday, was a response to the inability of the Federal Government to implement the 2009 agreements.

A letter to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, informing him of the strike was signed by SSANU President, Samson Ugwoke, President of NAAT, Sani Suleiman and their NASU counterpart, Chris Ani.

The Ministers of Education, Labour and Employment, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission and President, Nigeria Labour Congress were also copied.

The statement read in part: “The University system is challenged by poor governance and administrative lapses, which need to be addressed holistically. Poor funding of our universities, shortfall in payment of staff salaries, increasing corruption in the university system.”

The unions identified the inadequate teaching and learning facilities, abandoned projects and dilapidation of physical structures in most tertiary institutions of learning as areas that require urgent attention by the government.

They bemoan unpaid Earned Allowances of their members, which was a product of the 2009 FGN/Non-Teaching Staff Unions Agreements.

Other contending issues include, the inability of the Nigerian University Pension Management Commission (NUPEMCO) to resolve the problem of university staff pensions, the non-implementation of the National Industrial Court judgment on university staff schools and the non-implementation of the negotiated career structure for technologists, CONTISS 14 and 15.

Additionally, the unions have also petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over the continued industrial unrest at Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure, and the need for decisive government action concerning the University’s Vice Chancellor.