After signing agreement with FG, university workers end strike

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) called off their three-week-old strike after an agreement was reached with the Federal Government on Thursday.

SSANU and NASU agreed on all the eight-point demand of the Joint Action Committee of the unions, which led to the signing of a Memorandum of Action.

The unions announced the suspension of the strike in a circular to all branch chairmen hours after the meeting with the government. They disclosed that the action has been suspended with effect from Friday (today).

The directive was signed mutually by the SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim; and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, tagged, ‘Suspension of strike action.’

It partly read, “Having reviewed the collated responses from the branches and the MoA with the Federal Government with identified timelines, the National JAC, rising from her meeting of Thursday, February 25, 2021, hereby announces the suspension of the ongoing strike.

“Consequently, you are hereby informed that the strike action has been suspended from the midnight of Friday, February 26, 2021.”

The history of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) could be said to have commenced when in 1993 Sir B.A.C. Onwurah (UNN) and other compatriots removed SSANU from the vague SSAUTHRIAI and sustained the Union for about 7 years (1993-2000) with very insufficient resources at their disposal.

SSANU is committed to ensuring industrial harmony and stability within the university system through the medium of a focused trade union.

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) is the association that represents the junior non-teaching staff in Nigerian universities. The union came into existence in 1977.

The principal objectives of NASU are the regulation of relations between workers and the Governing Councils of the university. The Governing Councils and workers work toward eliminating exploitation in the workplace, as well as providing benefits to members.