UNIZIK NASU/SSANU Embarks on Strike Action

On Monday the 4th of March, the Non-Academic Staff Union and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities in UNIZIK, embarked on an indefinite industrial strike action to demand the payment of their allowances.

Just as the Academic Staff Union of Universities in UNIZIK swings into action with the commencement of lectures across different departments in the university, the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) in UNIZIK embark on an indefinite industrial action to press home their demand for unpaid allowances.

In a phone interview with CAMPUS REPORTER, Comrade Njideka Nwangwu, the Chairperson of NASU in UNIZIK, said the strike is because the university management has refused to disburse earned allowances that were released in the second week of January 2019 to its members, which other universities have done. She said the university claims the delay in disbursement is because the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) is yet to sign, but this was not the case in 2017.

She alleges that the 2017 payment was skewed to NAAT.

“The university management has always favored one union against the other two, and using the divide and rule system to pioneer the affairs of the management,” she said.

Comr. Nwangwu also noted that the only language the system understands is the strike action and the union will not resume until they are paid. She added that people cannot work angrily and they need to be motivated, which is why the welfare of the staff should be put into consideration as well.

She also pleaded with students to be patient as the strike action is necessary to correct the ills against them.

As at 11.21am, on Tuesday morning, CAMPUS REPORTER learnt from a reliable source that the NAAT is having an emergency congress to rectify the issue.

Efforts to reach both SSANU and NAAT have proved abortive as no calls or messages were taken or returned at the time of this report.