The Federal Government has scheduled a meeting with the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) for today at the Office of the Minister of Education.
The meeting comes after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU issued a two-week ultimatum to the government to pay the four months’ worth of unpaid salaries or shut down universities.
When four the university-based unions went on strike in 2022, former Labour and Employment Minister Chris Ngige invoked the ‘No work, No pay’ policy.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration withheld the salaries of members who participated in the strike.
However, in October 2023, President Bola Tinubu gave amnesty to the workers and ordered that the four months withheld salaries be paid.
Prof. Tahir Mamman, Minister of Education, further stated that the payment was for all university workers who participated in the strike.
While ASUU has been paid, the other three unions—NASU, SSANU, and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT)—are yet to get theirs.
This has caused friction in the university system, with staff threatening to stop working as of today.
One of the union representatives, who requested anonymity, said the government had scheduled a meeting with SSANU and NASU for 1 pm today to discuss the contentious matters.
He said: “The Minister of Education has called to meet with SSANU and NASU tomorrow (today), maybe to persuade us not to go on strike. We will honour the invitation. We are also going to meet with the Minister of State for Labour and Employment by 3pm tomorrow (today).”
It was also gathered that the JAC of SSANU and NASU has scheduled to meet by 10am today before meeting with the education minister.