Democratic Socialist Movement

For Struggle, Solidarity and Socialism in Nigeria

By - DSM

ON THE SEVEN-DAY WARNING STRIKE ACTION OF NASU AND SSANU

  • ERC CALLS ON GOVERNMENT TO IMMEDIATELY MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE STRIKING WORKERS TO PREVENT DISRUPTION OF THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR

  • WE WARN THE GOVERNMENT AGAINST INTIMIDATING STRIKING WORKERS LIKE THEY DID WITH THE ‘NO WORK, NO PAY’ POLICY  IN 2022

  • FOR PROPER FUNDING OF THE EDUCATION SECTOR!

The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) calls on the Federal Government to immediate meet the demands of education workers who, under the aegis of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), have embarked on a seven-day warning strike action over the non-payment of four month salaries arrears since 2022.

The non-payment of four months salaries in 2022 was a product of the vicious and anti-strike “No Work, No Pay” rule implemented by the immediate-past Buhari Government as retribution for the joint strike action embarked on by education workers at the time. While the government has begun part payment of these arrears to members of ASUU, it has deliberately looked the other way for members of SSANU and NASU. We consider the refusal of the Federal Government to pay the arrears a terrible attempt to break the unity of education workers and to criminalize strike actions in the University system. Therefore, we call for the immediate payment of all withheld salaries.

We also warn President Tinubu not to emulate his predecessor, the dictatorial former President Buhari, who regularly deployed the “No Work No Pay” rule against striking education workers unions instead of actually addressing the legitimate concerns and demands of these unions. To this extent, we consider the appeal by minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, for the unions to end their strike, as baseless. Instead of asking the workers to end the strike, government should immediately meet the demands and not create more crises for the education sector. Already, the strike action has meant that academic activities in many universities have been paralyzed, and the federal government must take the blame for this and make swift actions to ensure the demands are met instead of making speeches without taking action.

We also use the opportunity to condemn the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy invoked on striking workers in 2022. Just as we mentioned then, the anti-worker policy will not resolve the crisis in the education sector. Two years after, the policy whose only intention was to break the fighting spirit of workers, has created crisis in the education sector. It was, in the first place, an ill-thought idea and there was no way such a draconian action could have resolved the crisis facing the education sector.

Considering the rapidly decaying state the public education is in, a serious government ought to begin to take serious steps to uplift the quality of education and ensure the demands of education workers are met without the need for strike action. What we have experienced has been a dangerous neglect of public education. As we  have consistently argued, the only way to rid the education sector of the crisis it is enmeshed in is by proper funding and democratic management of schools by elected representatives of workers and students to ensure judicious use of resources.

Isaac Ogunjimi

Deputy National Coordinator

Adaramoye Michael Lenin

National Mobilisation Officer

ERC email: [email protected]