SSANU, others threatens to resume strike action

-University workers threaten to shut down activities in Nigerian universities.

-They accused the federal government of failing to implement agreements with the union.

Non academic workers of Nigerian universities plan to resume strike action.

University workers under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee which comprises of the three non- teaching staff in the universities comprising SSANU, NASU and NAAT has threatened to resume strike over the failure of the Nigerian government to honour the agreement earlier reached with the union in September.

A meeting has been fixed for Tuesday next week to agree on a date for the commencement of the indefinite strike.

Speaking yesterday at the 32nd National Executive Council (NEC), meeting at University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, SSANU National President and Chairman of JAC, Comrade Samson Chijioke Ugwoke, stated that the Union is not intimidated by the plan by the federal government to implement the no work, no pay policy.

Ugwoke slammed the federal government over its failure to implement all the agreements reached between the two parties which led to the suspension of the industrial dispute.

He said: “We had issues like earned allowances, short falls in salary, staff schools matter, non- implementation of the judgment of the National Industrial Court which we got against the federal government to recall all teachers back to their offices etc, we had an MoU with the federal government in January after a one week warning strike.

“From January to September, the federal government did not do anything as regards the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed in January and that necessitated our second strike which was indefinite.

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“We entered into an MoU on salary shortfalls, a development that has never happened before in the university system where staff are paid fractional salaries.

“We objected to that and the federal government promised the money. Information reaching me shows that up till now, not all the universities have received the shortfall.”

“It will be morally and legally wrong if the government should go contrary to the agreement it entered into with the association and expect SSANU not to react”.