The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, on Friday expressed optimism that the university workers would suspend their strike by February 15.
The minister, who disclosed this in a statement issued by the Director of Press in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr. Charles Akpan, said Thursday’s meeting between the Federal Government and Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non- Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) did not end in deadlock.
He said both parties reached agreements with timelines, adding that these were documented as Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
According to Ngige, the MoU was given to the leaders of SSANU and NASU to peruse and consult their members with a view to calling off the strike latest by February 15.
The minister said: “The meeting did not end in deadlock. Rather, agreements were reached on some issues with timelines and were documented as Memorandum of Understanding and given to leaders of the two unions to go and consult their people with a view to calling off the strike latest by Monday, February 15, 2021.”
The workers are challenging the inconsistencies in the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), non-payment of arrears of national minimum wage, delay in the renegotiation of FG/NASU and SSANU 2009 agreement and non-payment of retirement benefits of former staff of the universities, among others.
