Withheld Salaries: Nigerian govt, striking university workers disagree over payment

The Nigerian government and the leadership of the striking Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have disagreed over the amount of withheld salaries paid to their members so far.

The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) had said in a statement that payments to members of the unions “had commenced and many have confirmed receipt.”

But the unions have said the government’s claim is not “totally correct,” insisting that salaries for only one month of the four months withheld has been paid.

Both unions downed tools on Monday after their Joint Action Committee (JAC) announced an indefinite strike.

The strike, announced last Sunday, followed the government’s alleged failure to pay the workers’ withheld four months salaries from 2022.

Funds disbursed – OAGF

The OAGF said it has also released funds for the payment of benefits to retirees under the Nigerian Union of Pensioners Contributory Pension Scheme Sector (NUPCPS), Channels Television reported.

“The office reiterated its commitment to efficiently cater for the well-being of Nigerian workers and retirees.”

Not totally correct- SSANU

The SSANU Vice President, Abdussobur Salaam, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that the government’s claim is “not totally correct,” describing the claim as a misrepresentation of the fact.

Mr Salaam said members of the unions have only received one of the four months’ salaries being held by the government.

He noted that the salaries were paid a day after a meeting with representatives of the government at the Ministry of Education, which ended in a deadlock.

“Only one month out of the four months being owed was paid,” he said in a response to PREMIUM TIMES inquiry via text. “It was paid yesterday, Friday, after our meeting on Thursday”.

At the meeting held on Thursday, leadership of JAC including NASU and SSANU National Presidents, Hassan Makolo and Mohammed Ibrahim respectively, met with the outgoing Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Nasir Gwarzo.

Mr Sununu assured the unions that the withheld salaries would be paid but didn’t give a specific date or timeline. The unions, therefore, insist they won’t suspend the ongoing strike until their members receive the withheld salaries.

Withheld salaries

The Nigerian government withheld the salaries of university staff who took part in the prolonged strike in 2022 over unresolved issues.

SSANU and NASU were on strike for four months, suspending it after appeals by the then education minister, Adamu Adamu. But the academic staff continued with the strike for eight months until an industrial court ordered the suspension of the strike at the instance of the federal government.

Meanwhile, the government had introduced a “No Work, No Pay” policy, thereby withholding the salaries of the workers for the period they were on strike.

Last October, President Bola Tinubu directed the payment of four of the eight months withheld salaries for the academic staff. It was finally paid in February.

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But the directive was silent about the non-teaching staff, as the unions described the President’s as selective and kicked against it.

The unions subsequently wrote to the government, gave ultimatums, protested and held warning strikes, but their four-month salaries are still being withheld, leading to the ongoing strike.