Striking members of non-academic staff of Nigerian public universities have announced the suspension of their strike indefinitely from Tuesday, November 5.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and Association of Senior Staff of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) disclosed this in a strike update sent to branch presidents across the country on Sunday.

The suspension comes a day after the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) said payments to union members had “begun and many have confirmed receipt”.

Strike

Both unions had on Sunday announced an indefinite strike that began on Monday after the government failed to pay the union’s four months’ withheld wages from 2022.

In a bid to end the strike, the Minister of State for Education, Yusuf Sununu, and the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Nasir Gwarzo, met the union leadership on Thursday. But the meeting ended in a deadlock, according to the unions, as they refused to change the pitch. They insisted that the strike will be suspended only after their members receive their withheld wages.

Suspended strike

A statement on Sunday jointly signed by SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Peters Adeyemi said the decision to suspend the strike followed commitments made following engagements with the Ministers of Education and Finance.

The unions noted that the government had committed to pay two salaries out of the four months.

According to the statement, the payment for the first month would be made at the end of October, while the second month would be paid at the end of November.

The unions have therefore suspended the strike for one month, starting from Tuesday, November 5, the statement said.

The statement reads in part: “In view of the level of commitment shown by the new Minister and the leadership of the Department of State Service, the JAC leadership, after several contacts and other patriotic considerations, hereby orders that the ongoing indefinite strike be suspended for a month, starting Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

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“We also wish to reiterate that discussions on the remaining two months, N50 billion earned allowances, 25/35% arrears and salary award have been reviewed and are under deliberation.”

Wages withheld

SSANU and NASU had been fighting for the four months to be paid from 2022. The salaries were withheld after the government implemented a “No Work, No Pay” policy during an eight-month strike by university workers in 2022 .

Both unions, however, had only been on strike for four months and as a result had their wages withheld for those four months. Academic workers, meanwhile, were on strike for eight months before a court ruling forced them to suspend the strike.

Last year, President Bola Tinubu ordered the payment of four out of eight months of withheld salaries for academics. The directive was silent on the fate of non-academic staff.

When university staff members received their withheld wages in February, non-university unions stepped up efforts to pay theirs as well. However, their efforts did not immediately yield the desired results.

The unions subsequently wrote to the government, issued ultimatums, protested and went on warning strikes, but their four months’ wages were still withheld, leading to last week’s strike.