A coalition of non-academic staff unions of Nigerian universities comprising Non-Academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has called on the Federal government to honour its 2009 agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) however it said ASUU’s demands were selfish.
The coalition released a joint statement through SSANU and their joint spokesperson Samson Ugwoke, asking Government to also remember their demands.
The statement read in part, “Our stand on the on-going ASUU strike; we sympathise and solidarise with our sister union, ASUU over their long drawn struggle for the welfare of their members.
We urge the government to build more confidence in governance, at all times, by respecting agreements it freely enters into with unions.”
“However, we caution that any settlement of the current dispute must take into account the interests of all the university-based unions (NAAT, SSANU, NASU and ASUU).
“The three non-teaching staff unions of NAAT, SSANU and NASU are opposed to any extraneous demands by either ASUU or any group in the university which are prejudicial to the welfare of our members.”
Ugwoke further noted: “Our stand is that government should jettison the so called ASUU’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and concentrate on full implementation of the 2009 FGN/unions agreements which border on staff conditions of service and welfare, and increased funding to universities.
“The MOU being referred to by ASUU is for their selfish end and it is bound to generate more crises in the university sub-sector.
The non-teaching staff unions in the universities will stoutly resist any attempt to ‘sell’ the universities to ASUU.”
“All university based unions signed agreements in 2009 with the government, it is therefore advisable that all contentious issues in all the agreements be settled holistically to avoid a ‘relay race’ in strike actions in the universities.”
“The implementation of any union’s MOU should not come in between the period of implementation of signed agreements rather such items in the MOU should wait to be re-negotiated in another agreement(s),” Ugwoke added.
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