By Gabriel Dike
The three non-academic staff unions in the public universities have voted for an indefinite strike in protest against the failure of the Federal Government to implement the 2009 FGN/SSANU signed agreement as well as the January 2017 Memorandum of understanding (MoU).
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) on Monday held referendum to determine whether to embark on strike.
On Wednesday, August 23, presidents of the three non-academic staff unions met in Abuja under the Joint Action Committee (JAC) and directed its members to hold referendum on strike and submit the outcome today to know when to resume the January 2017 suspended industrial action.
Reports from various universities indicate that members of SSANU, NAAT and NASU at the referendum vote unanimously for indefinite strike and JAC of the universities have forwarded the outcome national JAC in Abuja for deliberation.
If the non-academic staff unions embark on strike next week, the Nigerian University System would be paralysed. Already, the members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are currently on indefinite strike over the same issues.
The 10 issues in contention are non-payment of earned allowance, lack of good governance, poor funding as against UNESCO recommendation, inadequate infrastructure in universities and abandoned projects, shortfall in payment of salaries.
Others include university staff school: NIC judgment implementation, non- registration of NUPEMCO, non-implementation of CONTISS 14 AND 15 for technologists, problem of lack of adequate teaching and learning facilities in the universities, corruption in the university system, lack of serious renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/university unions agreements and usurpation of headship of non-teaching units by academic staff.