UPDATE: NLC SUPPORT NASU, SSANU, DEMANDS IMMEDIATE PAYMENT OF SALARIES

Read Time:1 Minute, 20 Second

The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational Institutions (NASU) and affiliated institutions of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) are currently protesting.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has stated that it supports these groups and has called for the “immediate” payment of the withheld salaries of the irate employees.

Comrade Joe Ajaero, the President of the NLC, signed a statement on Monday stating that there was no valid cause or justification for the first withholding of their salaries.

“We join our affiliate unions, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational (NASU) and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) in demanding the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of their members,” the statement read in part.

Ajaero said the withheld salaries had plunged the members into indescribable hardship.

“Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment. By so doing government is courting avoidable industrial disputes.

“At a time confidence is being restored to the public universities the least government could do is not engineer another strike.

“The toll on all the parties will be unacceptably high, especially for students and parents who bear the burden of movement on our dangerous roads,” the statement read in part.

The NLC cautioned against undervaluing the unions’ maturity and pushed the government to quickly settle the unpaid salaries.

A seven-day warning strike in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was initiated by the unions on Monday.

In observance of the seven-day warning strike, members of the SSANU at the University of Abuja have blocked the gate’s access.