The meeting between the Federal Government and other non-academic unions ended without resolving the strike.
Although the bodies agreed to the possibility of considering the government’s offer, the strike action still stands. The agreement comes after a closed-door meeting between the Joint Action Committee of the unions and the federal government.
According to reports, the meeting ended on a positive note but the strike continues. The workers, members of three non-academic unions, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) agreed to consider the federal government’s offer with the possibility of suspending their strike. This came after a 9-hour, 13 minutes closed-door meeting between the Joint Action Committee, (JAC), of the unions and the government delegation in Abuja.
The leadership of the unions said the issues raised by the federal government will be taken to the National Executive Council meeting of their unions for deliberation and possible approval. The unions will then get back to the government in six days.
The head of JAC, Samson Ugwoke, told journalists after the meeting that the unions will come back after six days to take a final decision. He said: “Within the said period, government has promised that certain amount will be paid and if the money is paid into the account of the university then it is ours. “I hope the minister does well with his promises.”
The minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, said their demands have been addressed and the leadership will get back to the government on September 20 after consulting with their members.
Recently, ASUU agreed to consider the federal government’s offer and suspend their strike. The cheering news came after 12 hours, 30 minutes of a closed-door meeting between ASUU and a government delegation in Abuja which started 1:38pm on Thursday, September 7 and ended 2:15 a.m. on Friday, September 8.
