KEY POINTS

• Talks between the Federal Government and SSANU/NASU deadlocked Monday as the nationwide strike paralyzed public universities.
• The unions are demanding a 40 percent salary adjustment, rejecting the FG’s unilateral 30 percent offer.
• The University of Maiduguri has postponed e-examinations, while UNIJOS workers staged peaceful protests.

Mohammed Ibrahim, the national president of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, says the union’s strike will continue after talks with the Federal Government deadlocked Monday. The shutdown has paralyzed academic and administrative activity at public universities nationwide.

The Joint Action Committee of SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, is coordinating the industrial action. Both unions walked out April 30 after a one-month ultimatum lapsed without a renegotiated 2009 agreement.

What the unions want

Specifically, SSANU and NASU rejected the Federal Government’s unilateral 30 percent salary increase. The unions are insisting on a 40 percent adjustment and accusing the government of skipping the collective bargaining process that labor laws require.

“It’s very effective, total shutdown for now,” Ibrahim said. “All clinics, administrative blocks, hostels, departments, faculty offices, admin offices, finance offices, have been ordered to withdraw.”

Notably, Ibrahim said the unions’ minimum benchmark for negotiation remains a 40 percent increase. He framed the demand as a matter of fairness and equity, and stressed that nothing has shifted on the union side.

Inside Monday’s deadlock

At Monday’s meeting in Abuja, government representatives explained the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal of the earlier 30 percent offer. They appealed to the unions to suspend the strike while efforts continued to resolve the issues.

Furthermore, the union leaders declined to make that commitment without consulting their respective organs. The meeting adjourned and will resume Tuesday at 3 p.m.

The University of Maiduguri has already postponed its e-examinations because of the strike. Professor Dani Mamman, the institution’s exams and time-table coordinator, signed the directive in a memo from the office of the vice-chancellor.

Meanwhile, at the University of Jos, NASU and SSANU members marched from the main gate to the Senate Building. The workers chanted solidarity songs and displayed placards as they pressed for action on welfare and the long-stalled renegotiation.

A union split with the ministry

Specifically, Anthony Jauro, the SSANU chairperson at UNIJOS, criticized what he called disparity in staff welfare and delays in addressing the concerns of non-teaching staff. He said negotiations with some unions wrapped up earlier in the year while others stayed neglected.

“Our advice to government is that creating division among staff welfare in the university system is not good. Why create disparity? Are you trying to create a crisis?” Jauro asked.

Additionally, Monday Danjuma, the NASU chairperson at UNIJOS, accused the Federal Ministry of Education of bias in its dealings with university unions. He called on the federal government to do the needful and stop creating divisions inside the system.

Crucially, the unions insist that the strike will continue until the government meets their demands and negotiations on the 2009 agreement fully conclude. With clinics, hostels and admin offices empty, students and staff face an uncertain academic calendar.

With the FG’s withdrawn offer back in play and the unions holding firm at 40 percent, Tuesday’s resumed meeting carries unusual weight. Whether the two sides find a number both can defend will determine how long Nigeria’s public universities stay shuttered.