Varsity Workers To Start Three-Day Nationwide Protest On Tuesday

The non-teaching staff members of universities under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee, have said they will commence a three-day nationwide protest on Tuesday over inconsistencies in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment.


The group said it would also be protesting the delay in the renegotiation of the FGN/ ASUU/SSANU 2009 Agreement.


Others were the nonpayment of retirement benefits to former members, non-constitution of visitation panels to universities, poor funding of universities, teaching staff usurping the headship of non-teaching units, among others.


The Nigerian Government, had in December, approved N40 billion earned allowances for the four university unions and allocated 75 per cent of the amount to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, leaving 25 percent for the other three unions.


The JAC which comprised the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities directed all its branches to mobilise their members on Monday for the rallies.


The decision to embark on the protest was taken on Friday night at a meeting by the leadership of NASU and SSANU, in Abuja, where they reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Nigerian Government on October 20, 2020.


In a communique signed by the SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and the General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi, the committee added that the unions would consider other measures, including embarking on an indefinite strike, after the protest.


The JAC will meet on Thursday to review the success of the protest and deliberate on the next step.
It was also gathered that the unions had notified the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who is the conciliator between the Nigerian government and the unions, of their intention to embark on the protest.


When contacted, the spokesman for the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, said he had no information as regards the issue.


“When such issues come up, we as the conciliator always invite them to meetings to address their demands but I don’t have any information on what was being done on their demands,” he said on Sunday.

Credit: SaharaReporters

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