N40bn EA, Minimum wage: Varsity workers threaten showdown with FG

The workers accused FG of not intervening in the sharing of the N40 billion Earned Allowance

Non-teaching staff in the Nigerian Universities, on Sunday, threatened that it would commence an indefinite strike after 14 days over Federal Government’s ‘refusal’ to intervene in the sharing formula of the N40 billion Earned Allowance.

The workers under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and one other union, also said they were disappointed and disenchanted by government’s refusal to honour its promise to pay the arrears of the New National Minimum wage.

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Daily Trust reports that the workers had few hours after Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) suspended its 9-month-old strike, kicked against the alleged 30 per cent and 70 percent sharing formula between the unions and the Academic Staff respectively.

“FG has not honoured agreements”

In separate interviews with journalists in Abuja, President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim and its NAAT counterpart, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, wondered why government had ‘refused’ to honour agreements reached on both issues.

Ibrahim said, “My members and by extension, all other category of staff in Nigerian Tertiary institutions are disappointed and disenchanted by this singular act of government’s refusal to honor its promise to pay the arrears of the New National Minimum Wage that was approved by Government since April, 2020.”

“50 percent allowance”

On his part, Nwokoma added that they were also demanding that government releases 50 percent of the N71 billion accrued allowance it owed members of the union from the 2009 agreement.

He explained that the Union would be forced to resort to strike after 14 days adding that series of letters had been written to the relevant authorities without any substantial response, saying the minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had been informed about the planned industrial action.

According to him, “We have written to government that NAAT as a body ought to have been given a specified percentage of the N40bn. You must define it. You can’t just say ASUU 75 percent and others 25 per cent. Let us know the specific percentage you are giving to NAAT as a union.

“In the MoU we entered with government on November 18, in item number 2b, we demanded that in sharing of the N40bn released; that government should clearly define what is going to be allocated to each Union and government agreed to the genuineness of our demands and said NUC and Federal Ministry of Education will work it out in conjunction with the union. And what they have done negates completely the spirit of that MoU.

“We have given government ultimatum of 14 days. We wrote to government 30th December. And we have given government 14 working days and if at the end of the 14 working days our demands are not met, we resume our suspended strike.

“Definitely we will close down the schools, definitely there will be no opening of schools. If anybody thinks that ASUU has called off strike and that schools will reopen, then let the person dare us. Let us know how effective or how possible it is for schools to reopen when Technologists are on strike.

“If government in its own wisdom has said ASUU should take N30 billion from the N40 billion released, it is not the business of my union. But we have also told government that the arrears accruable to my union since 2009 to 2020, they have paid up to 2012, is N71bn and we have demanded for 50 percent of that amount and we have also given government ultimatum of 14 days if government fails to do that, we will call on our members to on strike. Nobody has monopoly of closing or opening of Universities by strike. We have said that repeatedly.”

He explained that by now the 2009 MoU ought to have been renegotiated, but lamented that the agreement has not been fully implemented, adding that “it was supposed to have been renegotiated after 3 years. But since 2009 it has not been renegotiated.”