The Senior Staff
Association of Nigeria
Universities is to begin an
indefinite strike from
Monday (today) over non-
payment of August and
September salaries to
university workers.
This is as the strike by the
Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU)
entered its 91st day in
spite of the intervention
by Vice President Namadi
Sambo.
The General Secretary of
SSANU, Mr. Promise
Adewusi, in a letter
addressed to the Minister
of Labour and
Productivity, Chief Emeka
Wogu, stated that SSANU
was saddened by a move
by the Federal
Government and the
university councils to
punish its members in
spite of their dedication to
duty in the university
system.
The letter reads: “We are
disappointed that in spite
of our members working
dedicatedly to keep the
universities going, the
Federal Government and
the universities' councils
have resolved to punish
them with the non-
payment of their salaries
for the months of August
and September 2013.
"We have not been
fortunate to have this
anomaly remedied despite
several letters and
complaints in this regard.
"We are therefore, left
with no other option than
directing our members to
stay away from work from
Monday the 30th of
September 2013 as they
will no longer have the
financial capacity to
transport themselves to
work as from that date
until their salaries are
paid."
It was further noted that a
copy of the letter was sent
to the Vice Chancellors of
the Federal University of
Technology, Owerri,
University of Ilorin,
Michael Okpara University
of Agriculture, Umudike,
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
University, Bauchi;
Obafemi Awolowo
University Ile-Ife;
University of Nigeria
Nsukka; University of
Calabar; University of Uyo,
Uyo and Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria.
Meanwhile, the Academic
Staff Union of Polytechnics
will resume its suspended
strike on Friday following
the inability of the Federal
Government to resolve
outstanding issues with
the union.
ASUP Chairman, Mr.
Clement Chirman, told
newsmen in Jos on Sunday
that “the frustrating
inertia of the Federal
Government to
convincingly fulfil any of
the promises and
agreements reached with
the union before the
suspension of the earlier
strike on 17th July, 2013
shows that government is
not serious.”
The Chairman said that the
National Executive Council
(NEC) after its 75th
meeting held at the
Federal Polytechnic, Bida,
Niger State, resolved that
the strike will be total and
indefinite until the
government showed
committed to honouring
the agreement with the
union.
The union in its
communiqué after the
meeting in Bida decried
“the anti-labour stance of
the National Assembly as
exemplified by the
recently proposed removal
of minimum wage from
the exclusive legislative
list of the constitution to
the concurrent list, as well
as the proposed
legislation against
declaration of industrial
strike by unions in the
tertiary sector.”
“The CONTISS 15 Migration
for lower cadres, Needs
Assessment of
Polytechnics, release of
whitepaper of visitation to
Federal polytechnics,
discrimination between
polytechnics and
university graduates in job
placement and career
progression and the
constitution of Governing
Councils to Federal
polytechnics earlier
omitted, were among the
issues we brought before
the Federal Government in
the last negotiation, but
government has failed to
address any of them since
after we suspended strike
in July,” the Chairman
lamented.