The Federal Government has announced that non-academic staff members of universities will receive half of their withheld salaries if President Bola Tinubu approves the payment of their salary arrears.
Education Minister Tahir Mamman clarified during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today program.
Mamman stated that the non-academic staff, including members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), were not on strike for the same duration in 2022 as their academic counterparts.
In March, SSANU and NASU conducted a one-week warning strike to protest the withholding of their salaries by the Federal Government.
The two unions criticized the government for paying withheld salaries to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while neglecting the non-academic unions.
During 2022, all university unions embarked on an eight-month strike to advocate for various demands, including improved welfare.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration implemented a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the unions.
However, last October, Tinubu approved the release of four out of the eight months’ withheld salaries.
SSANU and NASU accused the Federal Government of unfair treatment and discrimination by failing to compensate them similarly to their academic counterparts.
The Minister further assured that the government is diligently working to provide relief for the non-academic staff.
When asked about the delay in payment to NASU and SSANU members, he clarified that it has not yet been approved.
He explained that the decision to pay ASUU four months’ salary was discretionary and made by the President.
Regarding a specific timeline for payment to non-academic university staff, Mamman refrained from setting a precise date but affirmed that efforts are ongoing.
He concluded by stating that the non-academic staff’s payment would likely be half of what the academic staff received, following the precedent set by the President.
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