Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have extended their ongoing strike by another eight weeks.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the striking university unions disclosed this in a statement obtained by Metrowatchxtra, Wednesday afternoon.
The statement was jointly signed by the National President, SSANU, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, and General Secretary of the Union, Mr. Peter Adeyemi.
The statement read, ‘‘In view of the fact that government is still a long way from effectively resolving the issues in contention, it is only expedient that we allow the process to be fully concluded before directing the end of the strike. Consequently, you are hereby informed that the strike has been extended by two months, within which we are hoping that all the contentious issues would have been effectively laid to rest. The two-month extension is with effect from Friday, June 24, 2022.’’
The SSANU and NASU strike began with a warning strike of two weeks which commenced March 27, 2022, while the extension by another two weeks commenced on April 10, 2022.
Some of the demands of the university unions include the inconsistent issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), unpaid earned allowances, delay in the renegotiation of the FG/NASU/SSANU agreements, and non-payment of minimum wage arrears.
Others include neglect and poor funding of state universities, non-payment of retirement benefits to outgoing members of the unions, and usurpation of the headship of non-teaching units in clear violation of conditions of service and establishment procedures, among others.
Aside SSANU and NASU, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are still on strike. The industrial action by the university lecturers have seen public institutions grounded for months.
Details later…
