The ongoing nationwide warning strike by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities may degenerate to an indefinite one unless the Federal Government implemented the agreement it signed with the union.
Its Chairman, Obafemi Awolowo University branch, Taiwo Arobadi, made this known in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria.
Arobadi, who spoke on Monday in Ile-Ife, said: “If the FG does the needful within the two weeks warning strike, we would go back to our offices and work immediately, but failure to comply would lead to indefinite strike.”
He said that the ongoing two weeks warning strike was to press for the payment of their entitlements by the Federal Government.
Arobadi said the Federal Government had in October 2020 and February 2021 signed Memorandum of Understanding and Memorandum of Action respectively with the union without implementing them till date.
The Chairman explained that hazard allowance, responsibility allowance and some other issues, which its members were agitating for, were agreed to in the MoA.
Arobadi revealed that SSANU also re-negotiated the 2009 agreement during which they rejected the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System introduced by the government.
He noted that accepting IPPIS would have adverse effect on all federal universities’ staff salary because it would culminate in their being underpaid.
According to him, by implication, IPPIS would for instance be paying N45,000 to staff who are earning N70,000 monthly.
The chairman urged FG to refer them back to their former payer or other option which SSANU introduced to government for the payment of their salaries.
He, therefore, appealed to the Federal Government to release some funds for the revitalisation of all universities “in order for the children of the masses to have hope in Nigeria’s educational sector”.
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