SSANU: Re-think the strike option

The indefinite strike embarked upon by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) on December 24, 2015 has entered its fourth week. SSANU is asking the federal government to rescind its decision to remove names of universities’ staff school workers from its pay roll.  It would be recalled that government had earlier issued a circular to that effect to all vice chancellors of federal universities in the country. According to the National President of SSANU Comrade Samson Ugwoke, about 2,000 workers from universities staff schools are affected by the directive in the circular. SSANU had argued that the Union in 2009 entered in to an agreement with the federal government on the issue; adding that disengaging workers from the services of universities’ staff schools run contrary to terms of the agreement.
Media reports indicate that the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu had held a meeting with the national leadership of SSANU; pleading with the union to call off its strike while he consults with the necessary stakeholders involved in taking decisions on the matter including the Budget Office and the National Universities Commission (NUC). Mallam Adamu Adamu, it was gathered, explained to the union leaders at the meeting that he needed time to study and amicably resolve the demand of SSANU; being a new helmsman at the federal ministry of education  and one who was not part of any agreement reached before his appointment. The failure by SSANU to call off the strike after its meeting with the minister of education buttresses the union’s initial position of its resolve not to call it off until the over 2,000 staff school workers disengaged from the services of various universities across the country are recalled. The decision by SSANU to ignore the appeal by the minister of education does not portray the union as a body of university workers who work for the advancement of the interest of students for whose sake they were employed. Besides, government directive to remove staff school workers from its pay roll may not be completely unreasonable since the establishment or running of basic education schools is not the responsibility of the federal government. Therefore, holding the entire university system to ransom over an issue that can be trashed out amicably is a national embarrassment. There is nothing wrong with SSANU pressing home its genuine demands. However, strike should only be expedient when all avenues for the amicable resolution of a crisis have exhaustively been explored. Although a tradition appears to have been established in the past when the demands of the Nigerian worker were not always given attention except through industrial actions; the consequences that result from strikes have always been more than the gains. The more frequently university staff members engage in strikes over every demand, the more Nigerians would be impelled, no matter how genuine their demands might seem, to suggest that they cherish redundancy more than productivity. Strike paralyses the system. Matters that have to do with lecture halls; hostel accommodation and its administration, students’ registration and conduct of examinations are always grounded in the universities each time SSANU went on strike. Owing to strikes, students have had to spend more academic sessions more than the period of study stipulated for their programmes. Strikes by industrial unions in the past similarly sought to destroy rather than improve the system over which workers laid down their tools. We thus call on SSANU leadership to re-think the strike option in this matter; urging it to immediately suspend the on-going strike action. After its suspension, discussions and negotiations could still continue with government. Taking the matter to a court of law is another healthier option than the indefinite strike action. Courts have the mechanism to enforce agreements reached by labour unions with government. Utilizing the redress mechanisms of the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) is a better alternative to strikes. The IAP has the mandate to settle all referred trade disputes between employers and workers.

© Daily Trust