In an effort to pressure the federal government to pay the four months’ worth of salaries that its members in the Federal Universities and Inter Universities Centres have had withheld, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), both at the University of Ilorin, joined its counterparts in other universities on Monday and embarked on a seven-day warning strike.
Speaking with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State, the National Financial Secretary SSANU, Akanbi Mohammad Jiman, said, “Tuesday we had our congress we told our members that the seven days ultimatum had been given to the Federal government on the issue of paying four months arrears of salaries as part of the directive of National body of SSANU, NASU.
“As it is today, government is yet to pay the withheld salaries and that is why we have called the congress to inform our members that the strike have commenced today and until Monday Morning that is one week warning strike, after that period if nothing is forth coming, leadership of our Union will have no option than to call another meeting and take decisive action.”
He added that the unions hopes that that between Monday and Friday, the government will do the needful.
The strike will affect all school activities.
“As you can see now, no examination are going on in our University here with the absence of non teachers.
“There is no way they can continue their examination and so many other things. Without non teaching the University cannot move,” the joint Union said.
Chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) Unilorin Branch Com Falowo Olushola Naheem, said: “After all deliberation, consultations and also consolidations by the national executive council of SSANU and NASU under the umbrella body of JAC joint action committee of SSANU and NASU, we were instructed to give the government ultimatum of seven days.
“The seven days expire today because they were put on notice that Incase we did not see the alert of our withheld four months salary, we don’t have any other choice than to embark on seven days warning strike and the seven days warning strike start today and counting up till midnight of Sunday,” he said.
It would be recalled that the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU has inundated the Federal Government with the need to pay the withheld four months’ salaries of its members in the Federal Universities and inter Universities Centres as done for its Academic counterpart
