The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) yesterday criticised the inauguration of the Renegotiation Committee for the 2009 Agreement.
The unions condemned the event as a “charade,” and accused the government of sidelining non-teaching staff unions while giving preferential treatment to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
On Tuesday, the renegotiation committee for the 2009 agreement was inaugurated under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education.
However, according to a statement issued by Prince Peters Adeyemi, general secretary of NASU, and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, president of SSANU the unions explained that the invitation letters addressed to NASU and SSANU were improperly labelled with ASUU’s reference numbers which they said has raised concerns about the lack of recognition for other university-based unions.
The statement also criticised the minister of Education’s speech, which was reportedly focused almost entirely on ASUU, with minimal reference to other unions.
NASU and SSANU further alleged that at the inauguration, ASUU’s president was placed in a prominent position, while other union leaders were relegated to the background. The unions described the development as a “humiliating experience.”
They asserted that such treatment symbolised their exclusion from meaningful participation in the renegotiation process.
The JAC expressed concerns that the inauguration signals an inherent bias in favour of ASUU, with NASU and SSANU being treated as mere spectators in the negotiations.
They warned that this imbalance would likely persist throughout the renegotiation process and could lead to further marginalisation of non-teaching staff.
The statement reads in part, “The Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU hereby strongly expresses its displeasure and disgust at the charade witnessed Tuesday, 15th October, 2024 at the so-called inauguration of Renegotiation Committee of the 2009 Agreements with Universities based Unions.
“The event appeared to have been primarily focused on ASUU with the other unions seemingly included as an afterthought as the Honourable Minister of Education’s inauguration speech centered almost entirely on ASUU, with only brief and cursory mentions of the other unions.
“To confirm our fears, at the venue of the inauguration, the two unions witnessed a most humiliating experience where the President of ASUU was placed on what was referred to as the ‘Responsibility table’ and the presidents of other unions looked on from their positions of ‘irresponsibility.’
“That the President of ASUU alone was invited to give a response on behalf of other unions without consultation and he ended up speaking on behalf of his union this clearly showed that the opinions and experiences of other Unions do not matter in the renegotiation.
“Consequently, the JAC of NASU and SSANU hereby condemns the entire charade that took place today, in the name of an inauguration as it signals a potential bias in favour of academic staff in the upcoming negotiations, to the detriment of non-teaching staff and therefore expresses our misgivings about the process of the inauguration”.
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