The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has kicked against President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the payment of four months’ salaries out of the eight months withheld salaries of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) during the last industrial action by university workers.
The President’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed in a statement on Friday that “President Bola Tinubu has approved the partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order that was instituted against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) following the commencement of their eight-month industrial action which began on February 14, 2022, and was terminated on October 17, 2022.”
But SSANU said the president’s directive is “at best misdirected as its members’ salaries were also withheld within the period.”
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Friday evening, the National Vice President of SSANU, Abdussobur Salaam, noted that the directive appeared to be selective in favour of a single union out of others whose members’ salaries were withheld.
He said the president’s directive if not reviewed to include SSANU and other unions could be a recipe for disaster as he threatened another round of strikes if SSANU members’ withheld salaries were not paid alongside that of ASUU.
“The directive appears to be misdirected because all university unions went on strike last year and not ASUU alone. To that extent, that directive cannot be selective in favour of a single union but can only be general,” Mr Salaam said in a terse statement shared with this newspaper.
He said the union believes that the government is wiser than selecting only one union for payment and excluding the others, noting that there must be a communication gap somewhere.
“We are quite confident that the government would not be so misguided to pay one union the salaries without paying the other unions. It would only be a recipe for disaster in the university system. SSANU shall take it up with the relevant government officials and authorities,” he added.
No Work, No Pay and the 2022 Strike
Last year, at least four unions in Nigerian universities had their salaries withheld when the government invoked a No Work, No Pay policy against the striking university workers.
Apart from ASUU and SSANU, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) had downed tools to protest the non-payment of their members’ entitlements and the non-implementation of the unions’ agreements with the government.
SSANU has consistently queried the rationale behind the government’s “no work, no pay policy,” instituted against its members, insisting it followed due process before embarking on the strike that lasted four months.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe
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