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Why strike may persist in varsities, by SSANU, NAAT

By Collins Olayinka, Abuja
04 May 2022   |   3:22 am
The strike in federal universities might not end until the Federal Government agrees to adequately fund the institutions, pay allowances of staff and fulfil outstanding agreement, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities...

The strike in federal universities might not end until the Federal Government agrees to adequately fund the institutions, pay allowances of staff and fulfil outstanding agreement, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have said.

Specifically, NAAT faulted Federal Government’s ‘no work, no pay’ policy, describing it as anti-worker and in bad faith. National President of NAAT, Ibeji Nwokoma, held that the union’s strike is legitimate and followed every due process. He said: “We, therefore, stand on ‘no pay, no work’. This divide and rule policy of government shall not work. Be rest assured that we shall come out better, stronger, with every dime paid before or on resumption of work.”

In May Day speeches, the unions blamed falling standard of education on government’s unwillingness to fund the sector adequately, non-payment of allowances and near-absence of enabling environment for the impartation of knowledge.

President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, said universities were forced to shut down due to government’s insincere promises. He said: “Toying with the future of our children will spell doom for our dear country. I call on government to look into the demands of all the university-based unions and take urgent steps to address them, so that our children will go back to school.”

He chided government for paying lip service to quality education by underpaying workers in the sector. He said: “Our members have been denied payment of the new Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment arrears and a backlog of earned allowances in addition to other violations of our rights and privileges.

“Nigerian workers and indeed members of our great union are confronted with diverse challenges, like rising spate of armed banditry, kidnappings, insurgency, economic hardship and, worst of all, the inability of government to keep to agreements entered with all the university-based unions in 2009.”

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