The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, has begun its 7-day warning strike in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
Members of the SSANU at the University of Abuja blocked the entrance to the gate of the university on Monday, in compliance with the 7-day warning strike.
Recall that the Joint Action Committee, JAC, of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU and the SSANU directed members to commence a seven-day warning strike on Monday (today).
The directive indicates that there will be a complete blackout in all the universities, water treatment plants and clinics will be shut down, while those involved in the proposed matriculations in some universities are to stay away from any activities.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu had recently directed that university workers that were on prolonged strike in 2022 and had their salaries stopped by Muhammadu Buhari’s administration after the invocation of “No work, no pay” policy, should be paid four months of the withheld salaries.
While the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, members have since been paid, the non teaching staff comprising SSANU, NASU and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, are yet to receive any payment.
To express their dismay, SSANU and NASU through JAC, issued an ultimatum to the government, but the ultimatum expired without any action from government.
The two unions thereafter, gave a seven day warning strike notice to commence on March 18 if the government failed to attend to their demand.
In a statement on Friday March 15, JAC of the two unions lamented that the government had remained adamant to the strike notice and therefore directed that the warning strike should commence today.
A statement signed by Prince Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU President, explained that all the notices to the relevant government officials have produced no positive results.
The statement titled, “Commencement of a 7-day warning strike,” read, “The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU has inundated the Federal Government with the need to pay the withheld 4 months’ salaries of our members in the Federal Universities and Inter-University Centres as done for our Academic counterpart to no avail.”