University Non-Teaching Staff May Resume Strike

James Sowole in Akure

Barely five weeks after the non teaching workers unions in the nation’s universities suspended their strike, the unions yesterday threatened to resume strike over the failure of the federal government to honour the agreement reached with the workers.

The three unions, the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria University (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) operating under Joint Action Committee (JAC), said they are likely to resume their strike next week.

Addressing journalists at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), the Chairman of JAC, Mr. Dele Durojaye said the resumption of the strike became imperative because of the failure of the federal government to honour its pact in the agreement reached with the unions five weeks ago.

The unions had last year September embarked on nationwide strike in order to demand the implementation of the National Industrial Court judgment on the issue of university staff school teachers, payment of earned allowances, payment of shortfalls in salaries and funding of the university system.

The federal government through the Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige signed a memorandum of term of settlement between the representatives of the unions and the government which culminated in the suspension of the strike action.

However, the unions said the federal government has not implemented the terms of agreement that made them to suspend the strike action in March.

Durojaye however, lamented that as at May 1, the federal government has not implemented the agreement freely entered into with the unions.

He said the National Executive of SSANU would be meeting next week where the issue would be exhaustively discussed and chart a way forward saying “NASU has taken a position lat week at its National Executive Council meeting.”

Durojaye asked the federal government to implement the memorandum reached with the three union’s before it leads to the total shut down of the nation’s universities.

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