Delta unions join strike by senior varsities staff

From Osakhare Erese, Asaba

Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Delta State University (DELSU) Abraka chapter, SSANU-DELSU, Non-Academic Staff Union, NANSU-DELSU, and National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT-DELSU have joined the ongoing strike action by their counterpart National body SSANU.
Arising from a joint congress of the union in site II of the Delta State University (DELSU) Abraka, the SSAU Chairman, Monday Izu who spoke to journalists yesterday in Abraka, disclosed that the unions’ decision to join the strike action and the national body was informed by a unanimous decision of the unions’ members, adding that Federal Government alleged nonchalant act towards the agreement on the re-negotiation of the 2009. He said that government had failed to honor the agreement it entered with the union, hence the strike action embarked upon.
According to him: “concerning the staff schools in public Universities across the country, the National Industrial Court gave judgment to the effect that government should be responsible for the recurrent and capital expenditure of the staff schools as agreed in 2009, till date, government has refused to comply with the court injunction, and as of today, many staff school teachers are wallowing in abject poverty because Federal Government refused to pay them thereby disregarding court judgment”.
On the issue of the shortfall in the payment of salaries, Izu said: “Although DELSU is not involved in this anomaly, but so many universities are victims of this, especially Federal Universities, many of them are not receiving full salaries, some receive 75 percent, 80 and 85 percent”.
Recall that the national body of SSANU declared that there would be nationwide strike penultimate Wednesday, and it has taken effect from Monday September, 2017.