Strike: FG, ASUU, SSANU return to negotiating table

The federal government is expected to continue with its negotiation with the leadership of the striking unions in the education sector on Thursday.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the non-teaching staff under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee made up of the National Association of Academic Technologists, (NAAT), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU).

Recall that the unions respectively embarked on various industrial actions between August 13th and September 11th, over the failure of the government to meet their respective demands and agreements freely entered into.

SSANU and its affiliated unions, who were the latest to join the wave of industrial actions, the three other Unions in their notice for the declaration of strike accused the Federal Government of neglecting the agreements it freely entered into with the Unions since 2009 and the refusal of government to obey the judgment of the National Industrial Court that called for the reinstatement of sacked lecturers.

The industrial action embarked upon by SSANU effectively took off on September 11with members barricading major entrances and offices of the various varsities nationwide.

The striking university lecturers on their part, last Thursday, agreed to consider the federal government’s offer and suspend their strike.

The agreement comes after 12 hours, 30 minutes of a closed door meeting between ASUU and a government delegation in Abuja.

The leadership of ASUU, however, said that it accepted the proposal presented by the government, but will take the proposal to its members and get back to the government in a week.

Biodun Ogunyemi, President of ASUU, told journalists that the union will come back after one week to take its final decisions.

“Now we have some concrete proposal that we will take back to our members for consideration,” he said.

On his part, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, said ASUU’s demands have been addressed and that the union wiould get back to the government in a week after consulting with its principals.