The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Non Academic Staff Union Of Universities NASU and the Senior Staff Association Of Nigerian Universities SSANU has suspended its ongoing strike.
The suspension will take effect from midnight of January 26.
Briefing Journalists after a reconciliatory meeting with the Federal Government that lasted for about five hours, the NASU General Secretary, Comrade Peters Adeyemi, said the union agreed to suspend the nation wide strike after extracting some concessions from the Federal government.
He said that their demands have been harmonized to the satisfaction of both parties.
He further said that the agreement reached will be monitored, with a time frame given to the Federal Government to make sure adequate implementation is effected.
Adeyemi however stressed that the union will not hesitate to declare a nation wide strike if government fails to keep their part of the bargain.
“We had 8 items which we negotiated and which form the basis for our ongoing national strike. Our members in our various campuses in the universities and inter university centres had appraised the draft MoU and then raised the few observations, but they granted us the mandate that if we are able to meet with the government which we have been able to do today and if the leadership is satisfied, we can go ahead and suspend the strike.
“So we have held the meeting with the government side and those areas that needed to be harmonized have been harmonized to the satisfaction of both parties and resulting from that development, we have agreed that the ongoing national strike in universities and inter university centres should be suspended with effect from 12 midnight tomorrow which is Friday 26, February.
“We use this opportunity to appreciate our members for their commitment in this struggles, this strike is suspended and we are not mindful of the fact that we will continue to monitor the agreements that has been reached which has timeline and we hope that the Federal Government will implement his own side of the bargain.
“If the Federal Government doesn’t, we have no reason to call our members to resume the suspended strike but for now, the strike is suspended with effect from 12 midnight of tomorrow February 26.”
Earlier, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who played the role of the chief reconciliator, said the meeting was very fruitful as all the rough edges arising from the former negotiations have been smoothened.
“Today’s deliberations have been very fruitful, we have also issued a conciliation document called Joint Action Memorandum of Action (MoA), and the two unions will get back to their members today and in good faith, have promised that there will speak to government before the end of tomorrow.
“So we keep our fingers crossed, believing that their communications with their union members will be as quick and swift as they have promised us.
“This is more so, as government is desirous that normal activities should return to the University system so that we can take the action one after the other. With the normalcy restored in the university system, we intend to do the visitation panel which is one of the agreements reached with them and which cannot be carried out without normalcy in the university system.” Ngige said
The unions demand included, rectifying inconsistencies in the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS), non-payment of arrears of minimum wage, delay in renegotiation with government, NASU and SSANU 2009 agreement, among others.
