SSANU Knocks Tinubu Over ‘Selective’ Waiver On ‘No Work No Pay’ Policy
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has described as selective President Bola Tinubu’s directives that members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) be paid four months out of the eight months withheld salaries during the last industrial action by public university workers nationwide.
Reacting to the presidential order, SSANU insisted that the development is “at best misdirected” because its “members’ salaries were also withheld within the period” the strike lasted.
The National Vice President of SSANU, Abdussobur Salaam, said the directive appeared clearly selective in favour of a single union out of others whose members’ salaries were withheld during the period, adding that the situation if not reviewed to include SSANU and other unions could be a recipe for disaster.
Salaam, who warned that another round of strikes looms within the nation’s University system if SSANU members’ withheld salaries were not paid alongside that of ASUU, said on Friday that; “The directive appears to be misdirected because all university unions went on strike last year and not ASUU alone. To that extent, that directive cannot be selective in favour of a single union but can only be general”
In a terse statement shared with the media, he said the Union believes that the government is wiser than selecting only one union for payment and excluding the others, noting that there must have been a communication gap somewhere.
According to him; “We are quite confident that the government would not be so misguided to pay one union the salaries without paying the other unions. It would only be a recipe for disaster in the university system. SSANU shall take it up with the relevant government officials and authorities”.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, had in a statement on Friday, said; “President Bola Tinubu has approved the partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order that was instituted against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) following the commencement of their eight-month industrial action which began on February 14, 2022, and was terminated on October 17, 2022.”
It would be recalled that at least four unions in the Nigerian university system had their salaries withheld by the government which invoked a “No Work, No Pay” policy against the striking university workers.
Besides ASUU and SSANU, also affected by the government’s policy were the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) that downed tools to protest the non-payment of their members’ entitlements and the non-implementation of the unions’ agreements with the Federal Government.
Consistently, SSANU has remained adamant in rejecting the government’s “no work, no pay policy,” against its members, maintaining that due process was followed before the Association embarked on the countrywide industrial action that lasted for over four months. – With Premium Times report
