The Workers and Youths Solidarity Network (WYSN) has thrown its weight behind the 7-day nationwide strike action of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).
In a statement by its national organizer, Dimeji Macaulay, the group said the protest is a result of the responsiveness of the Tinubu-led Federal Government who, after the payment of 4/7 of the withheld salaries of the Academic workers, refused to make commitments for the non-academic workers.
“We agree that this is a deliberate neglect of the non-academic workers in the Universities and could be seen as another divide-and-rule tactic of the Tinubu-led FG. Hence, we support, in totality, the 7-day industrial action and call on the non-academic workers to start mobilizing for a total, comprehensive and indefinite strike backed up with protest actions if the deliberate neglect continues.
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“While we acknowledge that the Tinubu-led FG has bowed to pressure and agreed to tentatively pay ASUU members 4 months’ salary arrears, the fact that the other unions were left behind is a surprise to us at WYSN and must be resisted. We are aware of the statement of the ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, that mechanisms of negotiation of the unions are different, yet; we believe that a genuine government that is ready to correct the mistakes of her predecessor will make commitments across all the unions affected by the Buhari’s administration anti-workers policy.
“To this extent, we salute the tenacity of the NASU and SSANU members, organized under the Joint Action Committee (JAC) to reject this impunity. We call on the Tinubu-led federal government to immediately accede to the demands of these unions and make commitments to avoid disruptions to the academic calendars. We also call on the ASUU not to segregate themselves from the struggle but see it as an opportunity to raise, once again, the fundamental issues facing the Nigerian educational sector, particularly the students’ loan policy.
“As we have clearly stated from the onset, the students’ loan policy is not an ideal solution to the crisis in the education sector and will only lure innocent Nigerian youths into an endless pit of debt even before their employability period. The unions should instead demand study grants, instead of students’ loans. Similarly, the struggle should be linked to the total reversal of all hiked fees, proper funding of the education sector and an end to education commercialization.
“It is very clear that the emergence of Tinubu as the president will not resolve any of the fundamental problems facing the workers and youths of the country. As we have seen in the past few months, things have gone from bad to worse for the common people. This is why we will continue to call on the Labour leaders to form a mass workers’ political alternative to enthrone a working people’s government armed with socialist ideas.
“If this plan is to work, the Academic, Non-Academic and Senior Staff Unions have a pivotal role to play. We of WYSN are ready to join and participate fully in the emergence of a genuine workers’ alternative party that will utilize our collective natural resources to fund education and other sectors.