THE Joint Action Committee (JAC) of both the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has threatened to resume its suspended strike following the non-implementation of two Memoranda of Action (MoA) with the federal government.
JAC, in a letter to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said it is “constrained to write the Honourable Minister in respect of the total failure of the Federal Government to positively address all the issues contained in the Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed on 25th February, 2021 and the refusal of the Minister of Labour and Employment to finalise action on the subsequent Memorandum of Action reached at the meeting of 26th August, 2021.”
In the letter signed by Comrade Prince Peters A. Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU, and Comrade Mohammed H. Ibrahim, National President of SSANU, JAC expressed frustration that two months after its leadership vetted and submitted the MoA in a meeting held on Monday, 30th August, 2021, no action has been taken by the government.
“It is regrettable to note that the draft of the MoA reached on Thursday, 26th August, 2021 which was handed over to the JAC leadership for vetting was effectively returned on Monday, 30th August, 2021 and almost two months after the meeting, no action has been taken on the content of the MoA neither was it signed by all the parties involved. As a matter of fact, we do not know where the MoA is right now.”
The unions also drew the minister’s attention to other contentious issues such on payment of minimum wage consequential adjustment arrears, inconsistencies in IPPIS payments, payment of hazard and responsibility allowances to deserving members of JAC of NASU and SSANU and matters of unearned allowances, all of which they argued “action ought to have been taken but nothing has happened as at the time of writing this letter.”
On the issue of consequential adjustment arrears, JAC recalled that though “it was agreed that payment would have been fully effected by end of October, 2021,” but “so far, nothing has happened.”
JAC also noted that inconsistencies in IPPIS payments persist despite all efforts to deal with the matter. “The absence of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation as well as the Director of IPPIS did not allow the numerous issues needed to be dealt with under this heading to be addressed and resulting from their absence. It was agreed that as soon as they returned from their workshop, a meeting will be facilitated by the Ministry of Labour and Employment between the IPPIS and leadership of JAC of NASU and SSANU for all the issues to be resolved, but so far, it has remained unfulfilled, the letter reads.
Comrades Adeyemi and Ibrahim stated that issues around the payment of hazard and responsibility allowances to deserving members of JAC of NASU and SSANU remained substantially unimplemented.
“The complaint of JAC at the meeting that legitimate members of our unions (NASU & and SSANU) who ought to benefit from this payment have not been paid, while those who are not covered by the letter from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) especially Lecturers, are currently benefiting from it.
“Similarly, the objection of NASU that Heads of Units were omitted in the letter with ref.SWC/S/04/S.149/II/376 dated 6th April, 2021 written by NSIWC remains unattended to up to this moment.”
On the matter of earned allowances, JAC said contrary to the content of the MoA of 25th February, 2021 and the decision reached at the subsequent meeting of 26th August, 2021, “the information at our disposal as of the time of writing this letter indicates that the Federal Government has agreed to release another tranche of N22.127bn for the payment of Earned Allowance to the Universities and Inter-University Centres staff at the ratio of 75:25%.”
It accused government of insensitivity against the backdrop of complaints and resistance against the sharing ratio the two unions perceive as “provocative and unacceptable.”
“We are alarmed at this lack of sensitivity on the part of Government when not long ago, Non-Teaching staff protested the sharing formula applied by the Federal Government at 75:25 for the disbursement of the last tranche of N40b released for payment of Earned Allowances to both the Teaching and Non-Teaching staff of our Universities.
“To again embark on this provocative and unacceptable sharing formula in the next release will only ignite industrial disquiet in our University Centres in our country to be disrupted.
“We therefore request for positive redress of the issues presented above by the federal Government within the next two weeks, failing which JAC may be forced to ask its members across the length and breadth of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to take a position on the need to resume the suspended strike action.”
