The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) says it will embark on a seven-day warning strike over alleged discrimination in the payment of four months withheld salaries.

The National President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, made this known via a communique issued at the end of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Monday, March 11, 2024.

Ibrahim said the four months withheld salaries arose from the nationwide strike action embarked upon by all unions in the public universities in the country.

He noted that the NEC frowned at the latest action of the government which he said excluded SSANU and other non-teaching university-based unions from the payment of the four months withheld salaries.

He said: “We strongly oppose this discriminatory practice which we view as government’s open invitation to industrial crisis.

“Credible information available to us has it that the directive of Mr President is for all university-based unions to be paid the four months’ salary.

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“NEC, therefore, suspects saboteurs in this government bent on destabilising and destroying the good intent of Mr President towards sustaining industrial peace in the university system.

“NEC, therefore, calls on the relevant authorities of government to immediately implement the directive of Mr President by paying our members the four months withheld salaries.”

Ibrahim said NEC had approved a one week warning strike in conjunction with sister unions in Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) if the directive is not implemented.

He said NEC also called for the implementation of the 25 and 35 per cent wage award, by factoring it into the monthly salaries of its members and payment of the arrears arising therefrom.

The SSANU President added: “We demand this implementation before renegotiation of the new national minimum wage for which government had already set up a committee.

“NEC also calls on government to as a matter of urgency reconstitute a new committee for the renegotiation of the SSANU/FGN 2009 Agreement as the issue is long overdue.

“We are aware that the sum of N50 billion was appropriated in the 2023 budget for this purpose.

”NEC, therefore, calls on government to as a matter of urgency release the already appropriated funds for payment of earned allowances to our members to avert any industrial disharmony in the university system.”

The Star