Nigerian university campuses risk a wider shutdown as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has officially declared its support for the ongoing strike by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
The warning strike, which began on Monday March 18, 2024, is in protest against the non-payment of four months’ salary owed to non-academic staff by the Federal government.
In a statement issued on Monday, the NLC President Joe Ajaero expressed “unwavering solidarity” with NASU and SSANU, condemning the government’s “discriminatory and insensitive” handling of the issue.
The NLC called on the government to “immediately address the legitimate grievances of NASU and SSANU” and to ensure fair treatment for all university employees, even as it threatened to mobilize its wider membership across different sectors in support of the striking unions if the situation is not resolved.
“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 the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of their members,” the statement read in part.
“Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment. By so doing government is courting avoidable industrial disputes.
“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,” the NLC chief said.
The statement highlights that NASU and SSANU members played a crucial role alongside academic staff during the nationwide strike in 2022. However, upon the resolution of that dispute, only academic staff received their outstanding salaries, prompting outrage among non-academic staff.
This development threatens to further disrupt academic activities across the country. With both academic and non-academic staff potentially on strike, university operations could grind to a halt.
Negotiations between the striking unions and the government are expected to intensify in the coming days as both sides seek to avoid a prolonged shutdown. The outcome will be closely monitored by students, parents, and the entire education sector in Nigeria.