SSANU, NASU Boo Union Leaders, Vow To Continue Strike

SSANU, NASU Boo Union Leaders, Vow To Continue Strike.

Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and other Allied Institutions (NASU) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) have kicked against the decision to suspend the workers’ strike by the unions’ national leadership.

The protesters, who booed the representatives of the unions’ national leadership during a congress on the campus on Wednesday, also violently chased away the branch chairmen of both NASU and SSANU and other executive committee members.

They said they were not a party to the decision to suspend the strike without payment of the withheld five-month salaries during the industrial action, and vowed to continue the strike.

They accused the leadership of the unions of being bribed by the government.

But the National Vice-President of SSANU, Abdulssobur Salaam, who addressed the angry crowd at the university, said the issues have been resolved and that normalcy has already returned.

Protest

In videos obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the workers constantly interrupted Mr Salaam and other leaders of both unions who were addressing them on Wednesday.

They accused JAC of deciding to suspend the strike without the consent of the workers, who they claimed made the decision for the industrial action.

Some of the workers chanted “No work, No pay,” as others carried placards with the same inscriptions.

They also reportedly pelted some of the leaders with sachet water and stones, forcing them to escape further harassment and humiliation.

Mr. Salam, however, said normalcy was restored after explaining to the workers why the leadership of both unions decided to suspend the strike for two months.

He said such grievances are not unusual among union members.

He added that some members of the union do not have information as to why the strike was suspended for two months.

He said JAC had decided to suspend the strike after reaching some level of understanding with the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, on the demands of the unions.

He noted that the national body of the unions cannot suddenly rescind its decision to suspend the strike.

“Some of the decisions that led to the suspension of strike for two months were not known to them and after giving them the explanations, they calmed down. At the end of the day, people acknowledged that things needed to be done. So, there is no problem at all.” he said.

Credit | PREMIUM TIMES