The Federal Government has announced that non-academic university staff may receive half of their withheld salaries if President Bola Tinubu approves the disbursement of their salary arrears.
Education Minister Tahir Mamman, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today program, contended that the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) did not strike for the same duration as their academic colleagues in 2022.
In March, SSANU and NASU initiated a one-week warning strike to voice their grievances over salaries withheld by the Federal Government. Both unions criticized the government for settling the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)’s withheld salaries while overlooking the non-academic staff.
All the unions had embarked on an eight-month strike in 2022 to press home some of their demands including a better welfare package. The administration of then President Muhammadu Buhari subsequently invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the unions but President Bola Tinubu last October approved the release of four of the eight months withheld salaries.
SSANU and NASU accused the Federal Government of unfair treatment and discrimination by failing to pay them like their academic counterparts.
The education minister said the government has been “doing everything possible to get a relief for them”.
Asked what has delayed the payment to NASU and SSANU members, the minister said, “No, it has not been approved”.
“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.”
When asked to specify a timeline for the payment to non-academic varsity staff members, Mamman stated, “It is not prudent to set a timeline, but it is safer to say that we are addressing it actively.
Moreover, the non-academic staff were not on strike for the same duration as the academic staff—about four months.
Therefore, if they receive payment, it will be half of that amount, should the President decide to follow the precedent set with the academic staff.” Regarding the allegations of discrimination by NASU and SSANU, the minister declared, “That cannot be accurate; there is no disparity.
These individuals work in the same environment, performing different roles but all aiming towards the same objective. I believe the issue arose from a miscommunication, not from an intentional exclusion from that benefit.”
