Will government allow another round of strikes in varsities?

The last two weeks have seen a series of meetings and sensitisation programmes by workers in the nation’s universities, warning of a possible regime of industrial actions by the workers. This time around, academic and non-academic staff unions are involved simultaneously. They have two things in common: Implementation of previous agreements they entered into with the government and the payment of their withheld salaries. Their salaries were withheld following the 2022 nationwide strikes by them.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, started by holding a National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting on June 8, which was followed by the zonal leaderships of the union sensitising members across the country.

At the NEC meeting, going on strike immediately was averted by a slim margin, as some members felt cheated and taken for granted by the government they accused of not honouring agreements. It took the intervention of some senior members and leaders of ASUU that allowed for giving the government the opportunity to buy more time, as the union goes across the country mobilising members for possible industrial action.

The issues raised by the workers include the implementation of the re-negotiated FGN/ASUU Agreement, non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and arrears of promotion, non-release of third party deductions and failure to implement the recommendations of  the White Papers on Visitation Panels to Federal Universities and refusal to address the proliferation of universities.

Despite the announcement by the government that universities have been exempted from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, the unions are still alleging that nothing of such has happened. They are accusing the government of playing the scripts given them by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.“

From the meetings held by the national leaderships of ASUU, SSANU, NASU, NAAT, it is clear that the workers can go on strike anytime this month if no agreement is reached on the issue at hand.