Varsity workers begin strike today

The non-teaching staff in universities across the country will commence a five-day warning strike from today.

Led by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), the National Association of Academic Technologists, (NAAT) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the strike is to protest the refusal of the Federal Government to implement the 2009 Agreements with the unions.

Already, the three unions, under the Joint Action Committee (JAC), has written the Minister of Labour and Employment as well as the Minister of Education, notifying them of their strike.

General Secretary of NASU Comrade Peters Adeyemi, who spoke with Tribune Online during the weekend, said the strike would be for the next five days.

Comrade Adeyemi said the varsity workers have been notified and mobilised for the strike, which according to him is even belated.

He pointed out that the unions have under the JAC, written the government since last year, to notify them of the strike but did not bother to address the issue or invite the unions for negotiation.

Comrade Adeyemi, who is a deputy president of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said the failure of the government to implement the 2009 Agreement with the unions was just one aspect of the issues in contention, adding that there are other reasons for the workers’ decision to opt for the strike.

He insisted that the strike was very necessary to force the government to take necessary steps to fully implementing the 2009 FGN/Non-Teaching Staff Unions Agreements, since that is the only one language understood by those in government.

The letter written to the ministers was jointly signed by the President of NASU, Comrade Chris Ani, SSANU President, Comrades Samson Ugwoke and the President of NAAT, Comrade Sani Suleiman. The letter was also copied to Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission.

Also in a statement released by JAC at the weekend, the unions said: “The University system is challenged by poor governance and administrative lapses which need to be addressed holistically; poor funding of our universities, shortfall in payment of staff salaries, increasing corruption in the university system.”

Part of the issues in contention is the problem of inadequate physical infrastructure and abandoned projects which according to them, reduces the capacity and output of her members.

Other areas include, lack of adequate teaching and learning facilities which have reduced the productivity of the workers and the non-payment of Allowances, contrary to the 2009 Agreement.

JAC listed the issue of the Nigerian University Pension Management Commission (NUPEMCO) to resolve the problem of university staff pensions; non implementation of the National Industrial Court judgement on university staff schools and the non-implementation of the negotiated career structure for technologists, CONTISS 14 and 15.

The unions have also petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over what it described as the continued industrial unrest at Federal University of Technology, (FUTA), Akure and the need for decisive government action concerning the University’s Vice Chancellor.