Strike Update: University Workers Fail To Reach Agreement With Government

-Non academic workers continue strike action as negotiation ends in deadlock.

-The University workers are accusing the federal government of bias in allocating funds from the earned allowance.

Non-academic activities remain grounded in public universities as negotiations end in deadlock.

The federal government and striking non-academic staff members of public universities in Nigeria, failed to reach an agreement after their meeting on Tuesday.

The non-academic staff members embarked on the strike in protest of the sharing formula for the earned allowance recently released to universities which they claimed is more in favour of their academic counterparts.

The meeting which held in Abuja was called to review government’s offer on earned allowances and other demands of the three unions with a view to call off the strike.

Operating under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee, the unions – Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU , and National Association of Academic Technologists , NAAT , on December 4 embarked on an indefinite strike over the sharing formula for the earned allowances released by the federal government.

Abdussobur Salaam, SSANU public relations officer, said the nationwide strike continues

“Our branch leaders have been informed that the strike continues and no stone will be left unturned to ensure full compliance of the strike directive,” he said.

The N23 billion earned allowances was released to the universities in fulfilment of one of the resolutions reached to address the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.

But the three non-teaching unions rejected the prescribed sharing ratio of 11:89 percent between them and ASUU respectively which they said was in favour of the lecturers.