Chris Ngige has said the Federal Government has reached an agreement with the leadership of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) to call of their strike.
Ngige said agreements were reached by parties with timelines, which were documented as Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The Minister said the MoU was given to leaders of the two unions to go and consult with their members with a view to calling off the strike latest by Monday, February 15, 2021.
The unions, under the Joint Action Committee, commenced an indefinite strike last week Friday over the failure of the federal government to resolve issues in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.
They are also protesting the sharing formula of the N40 billion earned academic allowances and non-payment of arrears of the new minimum wage, among others.
The Minister, in a statement by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, denied media reports that Thursday’s meeting ended in a deadlock.
“The meeting did not end in deadlock. Rather, agreements were reached on some issues with timelines and these were documented as Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and given to leaders of the two unions to go and consult their people with a view to calling off the strike latest by Monday, February 15, 2021,” Ngige said.
He added that five issues discussed had agreements, while only one had a proposal, which was a government proposal for the unions to go back and discuss with their organs.
President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, couldn’t confirm if the unions would call off the strike on Monday as of press time.
“Not exactly. Still in a meeting,” he said in a text message.