Economy
Salary Arrears: SSANU, NASU Members To Get Half Pay – FG
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Salary Arrears: SSANU, NASU Members To Get Half Pay — FG
By Reporter
The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, has said the Federal Government is considering paying half salaries to non-academic staff members of Nigerian universities, NASU, and the Senior Staff Association of Universities, SSANU.
According to him, the ministry is still awaiting approval from President Bola Tinubu to commence payment of the salary arrears.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that members of unions embarked recently on a one-week warning strike to demand payment of their withheld salaries during the 2022 strike.
The unions berate the government for excluding them in the payment of the four-month salaries to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
But speaking during an interview on Channels TV, Mr Mamman argued that members of the two unions were not on strike for the same period in 2022 as their academic counterparts.
He, however, assured them that the government has been “doing everything possible to get relief for them.”.
Asked what has delayed the payment to NASU and SSANU members, the minister said, “No, it has not been approved.
“There is a court judgement on no work, no pay. ASUU getting four months’ pay was actually a discretionary decision on the part of the president. So, it doesn’t automatically transfer (to NASU and SSANU), but the matter is under consideration,” he said.
When asked by the presenter to give a time to the payment of the non-academic varsity staff members, Mr Mamman said, “I don’t think it is safe to put a time on it, but it’s safer to say that we are on it and we are pushing.
“And in any case, the non-academic staff were not on strike for the same period as the academic staff—aabout four months or so. So, if they are getting payment, it is going to be half of that (payment), if the President will follow his precedent with the academic staff.”
He also dismissed allegations of discrimination against the unions.
“That cannot be right; there is no rating. These are people working in the same terrain; they are doing different things but all working towards the same goal.
“I believe what happened was a communication problem; it wasn’t deliberate to exclude them from that benefit,” he added.
