The meeting called by the federal government to address the burning issues leading to the industrial action embarked upon by the federal university workers across Nigeria ended in a stalemate.
Yusuf Sununu, the former minister of state for education, presided over the meeting held at the Federal Ministry of Education aimed at discussing issues around the ongoing strike of the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational (NASU), and Associated Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
Sununu, who stood in for Tunji Alausa, the new minister of education, told journalists after the meeting that efforts were ongoing to resolve the issues raised by the unions, and that the government was taking a holistic approach to the matter, with discussions reaching an advanced stage aimed at meeting the unions’ demands.
He assured the government’s commitment to ensuring a stable educational system and finding a lasting solution to the ongoing crisis.
“We reviewed the reasons for the strike and briefed the unions on the efforts of the Federal Ministry of Education to address the issues. We assessed our current position and considered other potential issues that may arise, allowing the ministry to take a comprehensive approach.
“At the end of the meeting, we all agreed that we have made significant progress in addressing the situation, and we will continue to collaborate to bring the strike to an end as soon as possible,” he said.
Recall that on Monday, the JAC of SSANU and NASU embarked on an indefinite strike over its four month salaries withheld by the government.
The ongoing industrial action by the university staff has since Monday grounded activities on campuses across the country.
A member of the striking university staff told journalists that the reason for the meeting ending in deadlock was because the federal government only gave assurance of payment without being exact as to when the money would be paid.
Besides, he said the union cannot rely on such assurance bearing in mind that was not the first time the government is making such a promise.
Abdussobur Salaam, the vice president of SSANU earlier reiterated that the federal government did not provide a specific date for the payment of their withheld salaries.
“The government responded by saying that money would be disbursed within the shortest possible time. However, we made it clear that we have received too many assurances in the past. We will not return to work until the government demonstrates genuine commitment by fulfilling its payment obligations,” he said.
The striking university workers had, on Sunday, issued an ultimatum through a statement signed by Peter Adeyemi, the general-secretary of NASU, and Mohammed Ibrahim, the national president of SSANU, saying that they had embarked on strike as federal government withheld salaries of its members for four months.
The unions are demanding, among others, the payment of the four-month withheld salaries, improved remuneration, earned allowances and implementation of the 2009 agreements with the government.
The federal government had through the Ministry of Labour and Employment invoked the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy when the four university-based unions embarked on a prolonged strike in 2022.
It added that in a circular, the unions gave seven days to the federal government to do the needful in respect of their demands for payment of outstanding four months’ salaries and implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the federal government on 20th August 2022, which expired midnight of Sunday, 27th October 2024.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
