The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has demanded that salary increases of 25% and 35% be implemented immediately for staff members of tertiary institutions.
In a statement released on Monday in Abuja, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, National President of the SSANU, said this.
The statement was made following the association’s 45th regular National Executive Council meeting, which took place at the University of Maiduguri in Borno.
He claimed that while it was in session, the NEC discussed matters of national significance that affected the association’s members.
He mentioned that the late Prof. Nimi Briggs’ committee was in the final stages of renegotiating pay for its members when NEC remembered them.
Ibrahim claims that although the committee provided members with a 23.5 and 35% pay review, SSANU had requested a 700% pay hike.
“The recent news that the government has approved a rise of 25% and 35% for employees of higher institutions, which was widely shared on social media, is not the result of a CBA with the university-based unions.
“While reluctantly accepting this minor increase, which has not yet been formally announced to the union, our institutions and inter-university centres.
“SSANU urges both the Federal and State Governments to immediately implement the increment and pay the arrears without further delay,” he said.
He continued by saying that NEC is also aware that a tentative sum of N100 billion had been budgeted for wage reviews of employees in tertiary institutions, although such plans have not yet been put into action.
The SSANU president also stated that the NEC raised concern over the four months of back wages that had been withheld from its members during the previous statewide strike.
He claimed that NEC characterised the action of the unpaid pay as insensitive and careless.
It was clear that SSANU followed all legal requirements, including providing the necessary notices to the relevant authorities.
“However, we were compelled to go on strike since the government didn’t follow through on its end of the bargain.
“SSANU therefore sincerely demands that the government refund the unpaid salary as soon as possible.
As the government is aware, the value of the currency has already been diminished by hyperinflation. This is taking into account the terrible economic realities that the nation’s citizens are currently experiencing.
According to Ibrahim, NEC underlined that the 2009 FGN/SSANU Agreement Renegotiation Issue was not only delayed but also that the Exercise Should Be Completed.
“The NEC decided in session that the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, should get started right away as the President has instructed now that the ministers have been chosen.
“This will go a long way in addressing all industrial disharmony between the government and the university-based unions,” he said.
He added that NEC asked that the government promptly reassemble the negotiating committee.
with knowledgeable university officials and make sure they finish the job in a fair amount of time.(NAN)
