The Federal Government has announced that members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) will receive half of their previously withheld salaries if President Bola Tinubu approves the payment of their salary arrears.
This revelation came from the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics.
Mamman clarified that unlike their academic counterparts, non-academic staff members were not on strike for the same duration in 2022, hence the disparity in the treatment regarding salary payments.
Explaining the delay in disbursing the payments to NASU and SSANU members, Mamman pointed out that there is a court judgment regarding the “no work, no pay” policy, and the decision to compensate ASUU for four months’ pay was discretionary.
“There is a court judgement on no work, no pay. ASUU getting four months’ pay was actually a discretion and decision on the part of the President. So, it doesn’t automatically transfer (to NASU and SSANU) but the matter is under consideration.”
“I don’t think it is safe to put a time on it but it’s safer to say that we are on it and we are pushing.”
Thus, it doesn’t automatically extend to NASU and SSANU. However, he assured that the matter is under consideration, although he refrained from specifying a timeline for the resolution.
Addressing the accusation of discrimination by NASU and SSANU, Mamman asserted that such claims were unfounded, emphasizing that all university staff members contribute to the institution’s objectives, albeit in different roles.
Earlier in March, SSANU and NASU had staged a one-week warning strike to protest against the Federal Government’s withholding of their salaries, while ASUU received theirs.
This discrepancy ignited criticism, with the non-academic unions decrying the unequal treatment.
The backdrop to this dispute traces back to an eight-month strike in 2022, during which all university unions, including ASUU, pressed for improved welfare conditions.
Following this strike, the past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the unions.
However, in October of the same year, President Tinubu authorized the release of four months’ worth of withheld salaries.
SSANU and NASU deemed this differential treatment unfair and accused the government of discrimination for not compensating them on par with their academic counterparts.
