Members of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU), have been ordered to embark on a nationwide strike from Friday, February 5.
The directive was issued in a statement signed by the leaders of both university staff associations on Thursday, February 4.
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The statement partly reads;
In view of the outcome of the meeting, the leadership of JAC of NASU and SSANU at the branches are hereby directed to commence joint general meetings on Friday to give reports on the outcome of the conciliation meeting and pass resolutions on the way forward.
In the meantime, the nationwide strike takes effect from 12 midnight, Friday, February 5, 2021, pending any contrary resolution by the branches.
Representatives of the federal government met with the unions on Tuesday, but the workers said the outcome was “not satisfactory enough to” assure them that the government would meet their demands.
The unions are asking, among other demands, for the government to rectify inconsistencies in the payroll of its members and pay minimum wage arrears.
The strike action, if followed through, could cripple most government-run universities.
The universities were shut for most of 2020 due to a nine-month strike carried out by academic workers and closures necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Read Also: Breaking: ASUU Suspends Nine-Month-Old Strike
Amid a second wave of the pandemic sweeping through the country, the National Universities Commission in January urged universities to re-open and commence academic activities. Friday’s strike could hamper the much-awaited reopening.
