The National President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Mohammed Ibrahim, has appealed to the Federal Government to release the withheld four months’ salaries of its members to alleviate the economic hardship they are facing.
In 2022, SSANU and other non-teaching staff unions embarked on a nationwide strike to protest the government’s failure to fulfill its promises.
Despite following due process, the government invoked the ‘no work, no pay policy’ and withheld salaries for four months.
While President Bola Tinubu announced the payment of four months’ salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in October last year, non-teaching staff were excluded from this payment.
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Following this exclusion, SSANU and NASU sent protest letters to the Chief of Staff to the President and the Minister of Education.
On March 1, 2024, the unions threatened to disrupt industrial peace in universities if the withheld salaries were not released.
Addressing a press conference, Ibrahim expressed the union’s dwindling patience and warned of impending action if the government failed to act.
He highlighted the severe economic difficulties faced by members and emphasized that the release of the withheld salaries would provide much-needed relief.
Ibrahim appealed to government officials responsible for the issue to understand the urgency and release the salaries.
However, he warned that if this action was not taken, the union could not guarantee the continuity of normal work operations.
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