The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is scheduled to meet with the Federal Government on July 25, 2024, to discuss unmet demands. Meanwhile, non-academic university staff announced on Sunday that they plan a one-day campus protest on Tuesday due to four months of withheld salaries. This protest is a precursor to a nationwide demonstration planned for July 18.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, revealed in an interview that July 25 is the agreed date for the Federal Government to implement their promises. For weeks, ASUU chapters nationwide have been protesting, with academics and students threatening further strikes if their demands are not met. In an open letter to President Bola Tinubu, ASUU called for the full implementation of the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding with the government. Osodeke stated that the protests led to the government scheduling a meeting with ASUU and establishing a timeline for fulfilling their promises.
He said, “We have met with the Minister of Education and reached a timeline. They made promises to us, and we want to watch if they would be done. We are meeting two weeks from today, July 25th, to see if they have done what they promised. The protest made them call us for a meeting; they should fulfill their promise.”
The open letter dated June 20, 2024, explained that ASUU had to embark on a nationwide strike on February 14, 2022, due to the government’s failure to address their issues. Osodeke outlined ten key issues, including the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU Agreement based on the 2021 Nimi Briggs Committee’s draft Agreement, release of withheld salaries due to the 2022 strike, and payment for staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments. Other demands include releasing outstanding third-party deductions, funding for public universities, and addressing the Earned Academic Allowances and the proliferation of universities by federal and state governments.
Osodeke urged President Tinubu to bring together ASUU and major stakeholders to resolve these issues, stating, “This will save our university system from another round of industrial action and its disruptive potential.”
SSANU, NASU to Protest Tuesday
Simultaneously, non-academic university staff announced a nationwide protest starting Thursday, July 18, 2024, due to their withheld four-month salaries. Before this, all branches of the non-academic unions, under the Joint Action Committee, will protest at each branch on Tuesday.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) stated that their negotiations with the government had collapsed. In a circular signed by NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi and SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim, obtained by The PUNCH on Sunday, the unions directed all branches to hold a mandatory general meeting on July 8, 2024, to inform members about the government’s insensitivity to their plight.
The unions highlighted that the government’s failure to pay the withheld salaries, despite numerous meetings with the Minister of Education and the Labour counterpart, prompted their planned actions.
The national body of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU convened on Thursday, July 4, 2024, to assess the situation regarding the withheld four months’ salaries and other grievances of their members in universities and inter-university centers.
The National JAC also met with the Minister of Education, the Minister of State for Education, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, and other top officials from the Ministry and the National Universities Commission. Unfortunately, the meeting did not yield any commitment from the Minister of Education regarding the payment of withheld salaries and the resolution of other outstanding issues.
Additionally, the JAC visited the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment. However, the Minister of State was unavailable, reportedly called away on urgent business. The Permanent Secretary, who represented her, could not offer any commitments on the matters raised. Due to these disappointments and the government’s failure to address NASU and SSANU’s grievances, the JAC decided on a series of industrial actions.
Firstly, all branches of NASU and SSANU are to hold a mandatory general meeting on Monday, July 8, 2024, to inform members about the government’s insensitivity to their issues. Secondly, a one-day protest is scheduled for Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at each branch simultaneously. All members are expected to fully participate, and the press and media should be adequately mobilized.
Lastly, a national protest will be held in Abuja on Thursday, July 18, 2024. Following this, the JAC will announce the commencement date for a strike action. Further information will be communicated appropriately, as stated in the circular.
The Nigerian government had withheld the salaries of both academic and non-academic university staff for participating in an eight-month industrial action in 2022. In October, President Bola Tinubu ordered the payment of four of the eight months’ withheld salaries for academic staff, excluding non-teaching staff. This led to renewed tensions between the non-academic staff unions and the government.
Since this announcement, both SSANU and NASU have protested against the selective payments and demanded inclusion. However, as of February, only academic staff had received the four months’ salaries.