FG Agrees to Pay 2 Months of Withheld Salaries to SSANU, NASU

This move is pending approval from President Bola Tinubu.

The memo for this payment is awaiting the President’s sign-off. In 2022, four university-based unions, including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), NASU, and SSANU, went on strike over unresolved issues with the government. ASUU’s strike lasted eight months, NAAT’s five and a half months, while NASU and SSANU were on strike for four months.

The previous administration under President Muhammadu Buhari had invoked the “No work, no pay” policy during the strike. However, President Tinubu, upon taking office, expressed a desire to avoid future strikes in tertiary institutions and declared amnesty for university workers to be paid for the four months of withheld salaries.

While ASUU members were paid the full four months in October last year, SSANU and NASU, along with other non-teaching staff unions, felt the payment was selective and discriminatory. The unions issued ultimatums and staged protests, demanding the release of their withheld salaries.

During a recent meeting on minimum wage with organized labor, President Tinubu agreed to the unions’ request for the payment of the withheld salaries. He directed the Ministers of Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, and Education to develop the payment modalities.

The Ministry of Education has since recommended that NASU and SSANU receive payment for two of the four months they were on strike, mirroring the payment structure for ASUU. The Ministry of Education, headed by Prof. Tahir Mamman, has submitted the recommended modalities and is awaiting the President’s approval.

As of now, there is no update on the payment status for NAAT or the number of months it will receive out of the five and a half months of withheld salaries.

(Vanguard)