Photo caption: SSANU logo
The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions has warned that it may embark on a strike if the recent allocation formula for the N50bn approved by the Federal Government for university-based unions is not reviewed.
SSANU President, Muhammed Ibrahim, stated this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Friday.
The Federal Government recently approved N50bn as earned allowances for staff in Nigerian universities. The fund is to be shared among academic and non-academic unions.
However, the unions, in a statement jointly signed by Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, last Sunday, rejected the proposed distribution formula, describing it as “grossly unfair” and “totally unacceptable.”
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Ibrahim said that although the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment had drawn the attention of the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, to the issue, the unions might resort to industrial action if the matter was not addressed.
“We have made our case known to the public; we are in the court of public opinion. What the government intends to do is satanic and scandalous, considering the margin of difference between 80 per cent (for ASUU) and 20 per cent (for SSANU, NASU, and the National Association of Academic Technologists) for people who work in the same environment, who go to the same markets, who face similar challenges.
“Monies have not been disbursed yet, I mean in cash, but papers have been flying around in the name of allocations. So, we pray and hope that with our ‘Save Our Soul’ and the kind of message we are now sending, they will understand the need to go back and do the needful.
“We have not been called upon yet, but we are aware that the Federal Ministry of Labour has drawn the attention of the Minister of Education to actually see how this problem can be resolved without too much stress.”
The SSANU President said the unions had not formally written to any ministry because no official communication had been sent to them or their universities.
He explained that the information about the N50bn was already in the public domain, and they were aware of a government committee’s report on it; hence, they were raising an early alarm based on that.
“If the President is magnanimous enough to make this money available, why should other people misconstrue this idea by distributing the money lopsidedly?”
When asked if the unions would embark on a strike if the issue is not resolved, he said, “Strike is a tool in the hands of all labour unions, and it is used when necessary. So, if our cries are not heeded and we feel that probably that is the last option we need to take, why not?
“But no worker is interested in or happy to go on any strike, especially those of us working in the universities, because we know the kind of role we play in shaping society.”
=== PUNCH ===
