BOMA DIPRIYE
NIGERIA: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has called on the federal government not to take the maturity of the non-teaching staff of Nigerian universities over their withheld salaries for granted.
This is as he said that there’s no credible explanation for withholding their salaries despite President Bola Tinubu’s approval for the payment of the withheld salaries.
While insisting that there was no justification in the discriminatory payment of the four months withheld salaries approved by President Bola Tinubu for the university workers, NLC President, Joe Ajaero, urged the government to expeditiously pay up the outstandings.
The university unions affected includes Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
Recall that President Tinubu had in October last year directed that the four university based unions that were on prolonged strike in 2022 over the inability of the then government to address their concerns should be paid four months of the withheld salaries.
While members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), have been paid, the three non teaching staff unions have not received anything which prompted the Joint Action Committee, JAC, of SSANU NASU, to declare seven days warning strike after several efforts made for the government to address the alleged injustice failed.
In solidarity with the protesting unions, the NLC in a statement in Abuja, said the singular act of government had plunged the members into indescribable hardship.
The statement signed by the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, with the title, “Arrest this drift now,” reads in part: “We join our affiliate unions, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational (NASU) and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) in demanding for the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of their members.
“There has been no credible reason or explanation for withholding those salaries in the first place. We recall this singular act plunged the members into indescribable hardship.
“Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment. By so doing government is clearly courting avoidable industrial dispute.
“At a time confidence is being restored to the public universities the least government could do is not engineer another strike.
“The toll on all the parties will be unacceptably high, especially for students and parents who bear the burden of movement on our dangerous roads.
“In light of this, we urge government to expeditiously pay up the outstandings.
We advise government to not take for granted the maturity of these unions.”
