Universities Workers Plans Strike as FG Sacks 2000

The Senior Staff Association of the Nigerian Universities
has called for an indefinite strike on December 24, 2015 to
protest a recent decision of the Federal Government to sack
2,000 university workers across the country by January,
2016.
The National President of SSANU, Mr. Samson Ugwoke,
said during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday that the
National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, and the
National Universities Commission had written letters of
termination to 2,000 members of staff of the universities.
Ugwoke said that the senior staff union of the universities
had already dispatched letters to the Ministry of Education,
the NUC and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages
Commission to withdraw the letters of termination issued to
varsity workers of the University of Ilorin, Federal University
of Technology, Akure, Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto
and others.
He said that SSANU also urged the Education Ministry and
the other agencies to ensure immediate withdrawal of
similar letters to vice chancellors to terminate the
appointment of personnel of university staff primary
schools.
He said the letter dated December 17, 2015 also copied
President Muhammadu Buhari, the President of Senate,
Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Mr. Yakubu Dogara, the Minister of Labour and
Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige and others.
Ugwoke added that the 2,000 workers affected in the
planned retrenchment exercise were drawn from 31
universities and were employed by the councils of the
various institutions to make the requisite contribution to
educational development in the institutions and the society
over the years.
The SSANU leader noted that the directive to sack the
workers who are expected to leave service in January 2016
was contained in a circular said to have been written and
signed by a Deputy Director in the Ministry of Education,
Mr. E.O Fayemi, on behalf of the minister.
He stated further that the circular dated April 21, 2015, was
attached with a memorandum and report from the National
Salaries, Income and Wages Commission dated March 2014
and February 2014 respectively.
According to him, the commission responded to the circular
by directing the removal of personnel of staff schools and
other institutions affiliated to the universities from the
payroll.
He said, “The implementation of this directive would be a
gross violation and breach of the SSANU/FGN 2009
Agreement, which explicitly stated that the University shall
bear full capital and recurrent cost of University Staff
primary schools.
“It is further shocking to note that till date, the Federal
Ministry of Defence still funds the capital and recurrent
costs of over 100 Army Children Schools, Command
Children Schools, Navy Primary Schools and Air Force
Schools; while the Ministry of Police Affairs still funds its
Police Children Schools, all from the Federal Treasury.
“We are surprised that an agency of government, the
National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, could
continue with this callous, wicked, insensitive and ill-
intentioned agenda, despite our calls, letters, press
releases and publications on the issue.
“With the advent of the administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari, we had written series of public and
confidential letters on same with no positive response.”
He said that 90 per cent of the pupils of the university staff
schools were children of the staff of the institutions
stressing that the schools were established alongside other
academic components of the universities in some cases.
The unionist said SSANU had to give the December 24,
2015 deadline to the Federal Government as part of the
efforts to prevent the over 2000 workers of the universities
from being sacked.
Several efforts by Saturday PUNCH to get the response of
ASUU National President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, was resisted
because he said, “I am out of the country and you don’t
expect me to answer you from abroad.”
Also when contacted, the Special Assistant (Media) to the
Minister of State for Education, Anthony Akuneme, directed
our correspondent to the office of the Education Minister,
Adamu Adamu.
But several calls and SMS to the Assistant Director of Press
in the Education Ministry, Abdul Onu, were not replied.