FG, SSANU in loggerhead over 3,000 teachers’ salaries

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has spoken out against the federal government, urging it to reverse a circular stating that staff school employees should not be included in the 2022 budget.

Mohammed Haruna, the President of SSANU, provided the advice to media on Sunday in Abuja, saying that the union would go on strike if the government refused to heed the union’s plea.

Mr Haruna was responding to a rumored Budget Office letter mandating that instructors in staff schools be removed from the Consolidated Salary Scale (CONTISS) in the 2022 budget.

He explained that reopening a case that had already been adjudicated by the National Industrial Court would jeopardize the industrial peace in the universities, underlining that the union has a current court judgment in its favor.

He claimed that if the instructions were executed, nearly 3,000 of the government’s members would be affected. The SSANU president accused the government of breaking their agreement with the union.

“Well, the issue is that we are also taken aback by the recent negative development we just saw last week that the federal government, through the budget office, directed that universities should expunge or remove the list of our members who teach in the university demonstration schools.

”This means that they should not be captured in the CONTISS salary table, while the government is also planning to put them in a different salary table called CONPISS, the consolidated public service salary scale.

“This is a negation of our agreement with the government because those members of ours who are in the university demonstration schools are bona fide members of university staff,” he said.

Mr Haruna also noted that the government attempted a similar action six years ago, resulting in a lawsuit.

“We got a judgment in our favour. It was interpreted that members of staff in the universities who teach in the university staff, schools or demonstration schools are bona fide members of staff of universities, as employed by councils,” said SSANU president.