Members of the Senior Employees Affiliation of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Educational Employees Union of Instructional and Related Establishments (NASU), on Tuesday, staged protests inside public college campuses nationwide, demanding the speedy launch of their withheld salaries.
In Abuja, protesters gathered on the entrance of the College of Abuja (UniAbuja), carrying placards with varied inscriptions and calling on the Federal Authorities to launch their withheld salaries and deal with their different excellent calls for.
Related protests occurred on the Federal College of Know-how Owerri (FUTO) in Imo State, the place aggrieved employees marched across the campus, urgent house their calls for.
Our correspondent noticed that the ambiance was charged with discontent as employees voiced their grievances.
SSANU and NASU members on the College of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in Kwara State additionally joined the protest, urging political leaders to scale back governance prices and reduce down on their opulent life to satisfy the monetary calls for of the unions.
Leaders and members of the 2 unions held a congress adopted by a rally throughout varied college campuses. They questioned why the Federal Authorities has failed to satisfy their calls for since 2009, stressing the urgency to keep away from a complete breakdown of college schooling throughout the nation.
SSANU Nationwide President, Makolo Hassan, had reaffirmed on Monday that the protests would proceed as deliberate, highlighting the Federal Authorities’s failure to handle their calls for regardless of a previous warning strike.
The protests got here after a two-week ultimatum issued by NASU and SSANU in June expired. Earlier in March, each unions had launched into a one-week warning strike to protest their eight-month withheld salaries, throughout which administrative actions in public universities had been paralyzed as hostels and college gates had been locked, and electrical energy provide was reduce off by disgruntled non-academic employees.
The unions criticised the Federal Authorities for paying withheld salaries to the Educational Employees Union of Universities (ASUU) members whereas neglecting the non-academic unions. All unions had launched into an eight-month strike in 2022 to demand higher welfare packages. The administration of the then President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay’ coverage, however President Bola Tinubu final October accepted the discharge of 4 of the eight months of withheld salaries to ASUU members.
SSANU and NASU accused the Federal Authorities of unfair remedy and discrimination for failing to pay their members like their educational counterparts.
Training Minister, Prof. Tahir Mamman, had in April attributed the non-payment to a “communication downside,” insisting that non-academic employees members weren’t discriminated in opposition to. He promised that non-academic employees would obtain half of their withheld salaries upon the President’s approval, however SSANU and NASU members reported that they haven’t obtained any fee three months after the minister’s assurance.
The unions have referred to as on the Federal Authorities to expedite motion in implementing their calls for to forestall additional disruptions within the nation’s tertiary college system.
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