The University of Ilorin Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), on Monday joined the nationwide strike action called by their national bodies.
Mr Ibrahim Suberu, the Unilorin branch Chairman of NASU told newsmen at the university that they decided to comprehensively comply with the directives of the National Headquarters.
He said, following the directives of the national body to embark on the strike, workers were prevented entry into the institution by the unions in solidarity to the call for the strike.
Suberu said the security operatives of the university have joined the strike and were not at their duty post.
He, however, said the non-teaching staff of the institution cannot have access to their offices but because of the peculiarity of the universities, students and academic staff are the only ones around.
Suberu explained that the strike action was as a result of the unions demand that Federal Government should rectify the observed irregularities and inconsistencies in payment to the unions through the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information Service (IPPIS).
According to him, this needed to be looked into, as the government has pledged to make the necessary correction, but nothing has been done till date.
“We also demand for the payment of minimum wage arrears for members. We observed that the N40 billion the Federal Government pledged for ASUU and other university workers is not distributed equitably. ASUU alone is given N30 billion, while the non-teaching staff members were given N10 billion,” he said.
On his part, Mr Joseph Oyedeopo, the Chairman of SSANU, said the issues of retirement arrears are also part of their demands.
He said the issue has dragged on for a very long time and government must resolve it once and for all.
