11th December, 2021
By Peter Amine
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) chapter of the Plateau State University (PLASU) Bokkos is set to embark on an indefinite strike over non-payment of earned allowances and other entitlements.
Mr Timnan Rimdap, PLASU Chairman of SSANU, said in a statement issued on Saturday in Jos that the decision to proceed on strike was taken by SSANU congress following the expiration of the 7-day ultimatum given to the management of the university to act on the issues.
Rimdap said that the resolution had since been conveyed to the National Secretariat of SSANU for further necessary action.
The chairman said that the strike would commence as soon as they received approval from the national secretariat of the union.
He said that prior to the 7-day ultimatum which expired on Dec. 8, SSANU had in a letter dated July 2, 2021, issued a 21-day ultimatum which expired on July 23, 202.
“SSANU in another letter dated August 3, 2021, issued a four-week ultimatum which expired on Sept. 3, 2021.
“Recall that due to the failure of the university administration to address the grievances raised in the aforementioned letters, SSANU Congress embarked on a three-day peaceful protest from November 29th to December 1, 2021.
“SSANU congress at its meeting on December 1, 2021, resolved to issue the university administration a 7-day ultimatum to address the issues”.
He said that the issues in contention include; mainstreaming of hazard allowance at the Governing Council approved rate of N30,000 as against the N15,000 being paid by the university administration.
Other issues according to him were; payment of arrears of minimum wage from April 2019 to December 2020, payment of arrears of earned allowances.
“Another issue is the payment of arrears of salaries and regularization of the salary payday and constitution of a board to manage the staff gratuity fund.
“Implementation of Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Staff Salary (CONTISS) 15 salary grade in line with the CONTISS salary.
“Implementation of 30 working days as annual leave, as against calendar days, as is the practice in the Nigerian University system,” he added.