By Gabriel Dike
The Nigerian University System (NUS) would soon experience another strike, as two non-teaching staff unions threatened to down tool if the federal government failed to address their demands.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC), an umbrella body of two staff unions issued the warning after a meeting of the leadership of JAC held in Abuja on Thursday.
The two unions, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), said the meeting reviewed the status of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached with the government after the strike on January and February 2021 and expressed displeasure over the implementation of the demands.
In a statement entitled: “Red alert of industrial unrest in the university system” and signed by NASU General Secretary, Prince Peters Adeyemi and National President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, JAC warned that it can no longer guarantee industrial peace in the universities.
JAC revealed the outstanding demands of the unions to include, inconsistence in IPPIS payment, non-payment of Earned Allowance, delay in renegotiation of FGN/NASU and SSANU agreement, non-payment of arrears of minimum wage.
Others are usurpation of headship of non-teaching units in clear violation of the Conditions of Service and Established Procedures, neglect and poor funding of state universities, non-payment of retirement benefits to outgone members and non- constitution of visitation panel to universities.
“We wish to make it public that till date, except for constitution of visitation panels, which white papers are yet to see the light of the day, none of the issues as agreed in the October 2020 and February 2021 Memorandum of Action have been implemented,” JAC noted.
According to the unions, in place of the IPPIS associated with numerous problems, JAC had informed government of the development of software, the Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (U3PS).
It observed that till date government has not invited JAC to any meeting to present the software, much less accrediting it with the relevant government agency.
On earned allowance, JAC said it agreed with government to release N30billion for the payment of arrears of EA, adding, “we had an embarrassing situation where only 25 percent of N22billion was paid to the non-teaching staff in the disbursement made in December 2021.”
The union disclosed that despite all entreaties, the arrears of national minimum wage being owed members have not been paid.