By Abiola Olawale
Normal operations are set to resume at Federal Universities on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
This follows the announcement from the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
They have decided to end their ongoing strike, which was triggered by the federal government’s withholding of their salaries for the past four months.
The unions, in a joint statement on Sunday, said the suspension of the indefinite strike will take effect on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
The statement was signed by Prince Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, National President of SSANU.
The statement reads in part: “The National leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU acknowledges and commends our members in the Universities and Inter-University Centres for their unwavering resolve, unrelenting determination and steadfast support for the ongoing strike action.
“You will recall that the ongoing strike action foisted on us commenced on Monday, 28th October 2024 as a result of the Government’s insensitivity to the plights of our members in respect of our legitimate demands
“During this industrial struggle, we have had several extensive and exhaustive deliberations with the officials of the Federal Government of Nigeria including the new Minister of Education, the Minister of Finance, the outgoing Minister of State for Education, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, the Accountant-General of the Federation and the leadership of the Department of State Services
“These high-level engagements culminated into extracting an irrevocable commitment from the Federal Government that the 2 months of the 4 months withheld salaries would be paid in staggered form. One month by the end of October 2024 (which has largely been done), then the second month is to be paid by the end of November 2024.
“Arising from the above and in view of the level of commitment exhibited by the new minister and the leadership of the Department of State Services, the leadership of JAC, after several contacts and other patriotic considerations, hereby directs that the ongoing indefinite strike be suspended for one- month effective Tuesday, 5th November 2024.
“Branch leaders of both NASU and SSANU are hereby directed to convene a joint Congress in their respective campuses on Monday, 4th November 2024 and intimate members of these developments and urge them to resume work on Tuesday, 5th November 2024.
“We wish to also reiterate that discussions on the remaining 2 months, the N50 billion Earned Allowances, Arrears of 25/35 per cent and the Wage Award have been revisited and are undergoing deliberations.
“Thank you for your usual understanding and cooperation in this regard; we appreciate your total commitment and resoluteness during this struggle.”
The New Diplomat reports that NASU and SSANU had commenced strike on Monday, 28th October 2024, over what the unions called the “government’s insensitivity to the plights of our members in respect of our legitimate demands.”
The two unions had cried out over what they described as unfair treatment and disparity in the payment of withheld salaries by the Federal Government.
SSANU and NASU had already embarked on a nationwide strike in March to press home their demand for the payment of the withheld salaries of their members by the Federal Government after the 2022 nationwide strike.
It would also be recalled also that SSANU and NASU, had on February 13, 2024, written protest letters to the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and the then Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, over the exclusion of the non-teaching staff from the payment of outstanding four months’ salaries.
SSANU had queried the Nigerian government for paying the withheld salaries of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) leaving out the non-academic staff.
