President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Joe Ajaero, has called on the Federal Government to pay the four months withheld salaries of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational Associated Institutions with immediate effect to avoid further industrial action.

This was in reaction to the seven-day warning strike that SSANU/NASU began on Monday, which grounded universities’ activities across the country.

SSANU and NASU had for about a month called the attention of the government to its exclusion from the payment of the withheld salaries which it commenced payment for the Academic Staff Union of Universities in February.

Their salaries were withheld when the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the Academic Staff Union of Universities and SSANU for embarking on a strike that lasted eight months and four months in 2022 respectively.

A statement signed by Ajaero, said, “We join our affiliate unions, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities in demanding the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of their members.

“There has been no credible reason or explanation for withholding those salaries in the first place.

We recall this singular act plunged the members into indescribable hardship.

“Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment. By so doing government is courting avoidable industrial disputes. At a time, when confidence is being restored to the public universities the least the government could do is not engineer another strike. The toll on all the parties will be unacceptably high, especially for students and parents who bear the burden of movement on our dangerous roads. In light of this, we urge the government to expeditiously pay up the outstanding. We advise the government to not take for granted the maturity of these unions.”