SSANU, NAAT, NASU direct members to commence strike Monday 'NLC backs strike

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) have directed their members and all the non-teaching staff in Nigerian universities across the country to commence a seven-day warning strike on Monday.The president of SSANU, Comrade Samson Ugwoke, while giving the directive on Thursday said there was no going back on the nationwide strike as no significant efforts had been made by the government to prevent the strike since the three unions gave the strike notice.He said the three unions were ready for a showdown with the government because it had not taken them seriously on the issue.'The government is not sincere and serious with us from the onset but now our unions are ready for a showdown with the government to ensure the full implementation of the agreement that is due for renegotiation in less than one year time,' Comrade Ugwoke said in a statement on Thursday.Meanwhile, the president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, has justified the industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the strike declared by the three other industrial unions slated for Monday.Comrade Omar, who spoke in Abuja while receiving a delegation of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), said ASUU, SSANU, NAAT and NASU had no other choice since the government refused to honour the agreements it entered into with them.According to him, the strike is a testimony to the fact that Nigerian government cannot be trusted with agreements.He expressed the NLC support for the strike and added that government was expected to respect agreements but regretted that in Nigeria, government unilaterally breached agreements freely reached with labour with impunity.
Click here to read full news..