The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have announced the suspension of the ongoing nationwide indefinite strike over withheld salaries for a month.
This was disclosed in a statement today, sent by the unions to their state chairpersons across the country, announcing the suspension of the strike from November 5.
The suspension comes a day after the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) said payments to members of the unions had commenced and many have confirmed receipt.
Both unions had on Sunday announced an indefinite strike that began on Monday after the government failed to pay the union’s four months withheld salaries from 2022.
The unions noted that the government has committed to the payment of two of the four month’s salaries.
According to the statement, payment for the first month would be paid at the end of November.
The unions, therefore, suspended the strike for a month, starting from Tuesday, 5 November, 2024.
The statement read; “In view of the level of commitment exhibited by the new minister and the leadership of the Department of State Service, the leadership of JAC, after several contacts and other patriotic consideration, hereby directs that the ongoing indefinite strike be suspended for one month effective Tuesday 5th November 2024.”
“We wish to also reiterate that discussions on the remaining 2 months, the N50 billion Earned Allowances, Arrears of 25/35 percent and the wage award have been revisited and are undergoing deliberations.”
SSANU and NASU had fought to have the four month’s salaries paid since 2022. The salaries were withheld after the government implemented a “No Work, No Pay” policy during a university worker’s strike that lasted eight months in 2022.
Both unions were, however, on strike for only four months and, as a result, had salaries for those four months withheld. The academic workers, however, were on strike for eight months before a court order forced them to suspend the strike.
Last year, President Bola Tinubu directed the payment of four of the eight months withheld salaries for the academic staff. The directive was silent about the fate of the non-academic staff.
More so, when the academic staff members received the withheld salaries in February, the non-academic unions intensified their efforts to have theirs paid aswell. However, their efforts did not immediately yield their desired results.
The unions subsequently wrote to the government, gave ultimatums, protested and held warning strikes, but their four-month salaries were still withheld, leading to last week’s strike announcement.
