By Aiyeku Timothy
The Federal Government is currently meeting with the Joint Action Committee comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) in order to avert looming strike action.
The meeting is holding at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Abuja.
Among those present in the meeting are the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige; SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim; and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi.
The non-teaching staff in the universities recent threatened embark on a nationwide strike from February 5, 2021 over the Federal Government’s handling of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, sharing formula of the N40 billion earned academic allowances and non-payment of arrears of the new minimum wage.
Others are the non-payment of retirement benefits to former members, non-constitution of visitation panels to universities, poor funding of universities, teaching staff usurping the headship of non-teaching units, among others.
The committee had embarked on a three-day protest over the government’s failure to honour the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the unions on October 20, 2020.
The outcome of the meeting is yet unknown as they were still sitting at press time.
