Non-implementation of old agreements, new issues driveS SSANU, NASU strike

The ongoing strike action by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has once again reignited old wounds and recurring decimal of unresolved issues dating back to 1992 agreements between the federal government and academic and non academic staff of universities.

In the current strike action, the development was caused by the refusal of federal government to pay SSANU and NASU their entitlements and salaries for the period of seven months strike action during Buhari administration in 2022. The Tinubu government had paid ASUU for the period they were on strike but had left out non academic staff.

The meeting convened by the Federal Government to persuade the striking non-teaching staff in the universities to suspend the ongoing strike over their exclusion in the payment of the four months withheld salaries approved by President Bola Tinubu, ended in deadlock.

But the unions, the SSANU, NASU and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, told the government that what they needed was payment of the withheld salaries and not meetings, and unless paid they would continue with the industrial action. The three unions noted that the federal government has been making promises that their concerns were receiving attention from the high quarters regarding payments, when nothing concrete was being done to pay them the way their sister, ASUU members were paid.

The deadlocked meeting last week, which started last Wednesday about 1 pm at the Conference Hall of the Ministry of Education was presided over by the Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman flanked by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, the Permanent Secretary and the directors in the ministry.
On the side of the unions were the President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, the General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi and the President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma among others.

Business Hallmark gathered that the government team made spirited efforts to persuade the unions to suspend the ongoing strike that had paralyzed academic and administrative activities in both the public and state universities, saying that the concern they raised was receiving attention from the high quarters, but the unions were adamant in their demand for the payment of the withheld salaries. The unions told the government that they would not hesitate to suspend the strike if they were paid the four months withheld salaries.

A source said, “The meeting with government ended in deadlock even though the government team doesn’t want us to describe it so. The ministers made efforts to persuade us to suspend the strike but we told them that we can only suspend it when the withheld salaries are paid.

“We are making it abundantly clear that we don’t want meeting, we only want the payment of our withheld salaries. We are ready to suspend the strike any time the salaries are paid.

On its own, ASUU said it was not opposed to the strike action by SSANU and NASU.
The National President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, said this in a recent interview.

However, while declaring that ASUU members would continue with their work as they are not on strike, Osodeke advised Federal Government on what it should do to avert disruption of activities in the nation’s universities.

According to him, it would have been better and more honourable if the Federal Government can clear all the backlog of withheld salaries of all the university workers across unions and also meet other needs.

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, also expressed support for the striking varsity workers. Mr. Joe Ajaero, President of NLC, wrote: “We join our affiliate unions, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational (NASU) and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) in demanding the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of their members.

“There has been no credible reason or explanation for withholding those salaries in the first place. We recall this singular act plunged the members into indescribable hardship. Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment. By so doing government is clearly courting avoidable industrial disputes.”

In its notice of strike issued at pen ultimate weekend, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the unions said it had exhausted all means within its power to ensure dialogue with the Nigerian government.

SSANU and NASU are protesting President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the payment of four months of withheld salaries for the academic staff of universities but with the withheld salaries of the non-academic staff left unpaid.

Recall that the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari withheld the salaries of Nigerian university workers for an industrial action that crippled the universities for eight months in 2022.

Buhari’s government invoked a No Work, No Pay policy against the unions that embarked on strike within the period. These unions include the ASUU, whose four of eight months withheld salaries have now been paid by the new administration of Mr Tinubu.
However, in October, President Bola Tinubu announced that his government would pay four months of the withheld salaries to members of ASUU. The announcement instantly raised concerns over the fate of the members of the other unions.

The non payment is largely responsible for the current impasse.

The crisis rocking universities dated back to 1992 agreements during the administration of former military president Ibrahim Babangida. Then, in 2007, government had a comprehensive agreement with the unions on funding and revitalisation of the universities, which, again it defaulted, claiming it is un-implementable.

However, in December, 2023, the Nigerian government listed key demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that it had met.

The demands by the union had resulted in years of incessant strikes, leading to the shutdown of Nigerian public universities for months at various times.

The Minister Tahir Mamman, in December 2023 listed some of the demands of the union that have been met by the President Bola Tinubu’s government, but many commentators have expressed reservations.
Prof. Adeagbo Moritiwon a political scientist, said what “Tinubu administration is saying is pure propaganda. Let them make public the demands they have met. In the current strike by SSANU, it should not have reached this nadir if government had paid. Even ASUU had only been paid four out of seven months.”

Prof. Adamu Abdullah, an agronomist, told Business Hallmark that “when it comes to education the government is not ready but when they want to do their own matter they expedite action. Look at the current budget padding, it’s shameful. A nation that toys with education will atrophy.”

However, speaking at a recent press briefing, Mamman said the federal government had increased the salaries of workers in the public tertiary institutions by 35 per cent.
Prof. Mamman added that the government has also granted autonomy to the universities by removing them from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), and the granting of autonomy to recruit staff.

”No Nigerian would be happy with the epileptic delivery of academic activities in our tertiary institutions occasioned by long-unresolved agreements,” he said.

“Under the guidance of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, we engaged in informal consultations with the tertiary institutions-based unions and have begun to build trust as exemplified by the resolution of (a) 35 per cent increase in salaries of workers in our tertiary institutions; (b) 4 months payment of salaries for the 8 months they were on strike in 2022; (c) Removal from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System; (d) Granting autonomy for recruitment.”

Backstory

Nigerian university students have been forced out of the classroom for more than four years due to the frequent strikes embarked upon by the members of the ASUU since the return of democracy to the country in 1999.

The third ASUU strike commenced on March 23, 2020. The indefinite strike started the same week President Muhammadu Buhari imposed a lockdown on the country due to the then ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The strike lasted for nine months. There another was strike by ASUU on February 14, 2022, in which it demanded better conditions of service as contained in the agreement it reached with government in 2009.