FG, University Unions Deadlock as Strike Cripples Campuses

Talks between the Federal Government and non-academic university unions ended in a stalemate on Monday, leaving public campuses nationwide in a state of administrative paralysis. The Joint Action Committee, representing SSANU and NASU, refused to blink as the indefinite strike shuttered clinics, hostels, and bursaries. Government officials tried to pacify the unions by explaining why an earlier salary offer vanished, but leaders demanded more than apologies. They want a 40 per cent pay rise and a return to honest bargaining.

The strike has already claimed its first academic casualties at the University of Maiduguri. Authorities there postponed e-examinations indefinitely because the staff required to run the computers and halls have walked out. This is not a partial withdrawal of labour. In many institutions, even essential services like campus security and health clinics have ceased to function. The unions are intentionally making the absence of non-teaching staff felt in every corner of the ivory tower.

At the University of Jos, the mood on the ground shifted from quiet defiance to open protest. Workers marched to the Senate Building to accuse the Ministry of Education of playing favourites with university unions. They claim the government implemented welfare deals for academic staff while leaving non-academic workers to scavenge for leftovers. This perceived bias has turned a wage dispute into a battle for professional dignity. The unions view the government’s 30 per cent salary offer as an insult to their 15-year wait for a new deal.

Government negotiators are in a tight spot after failing to honour previous ultimatums. They spent Monday’s meeting pleading for a suspension of the strike to allow for “further consultations.” Union leaders, however, refused to call off the dogs without a concrete, written commitment to their demands. They argue that the 2009 agreement is now a relic of a different economic era. The current cost of living in Nigeria makes the old figures look like pocket change.

The core of the dispute rests on the mechanics of collective bargaining. The unions accuse the state of unilateralism, claiming the government sets figures without actually negotiating with the workers. Labour laws require a back-and-forth process that union presidents say the Ministry of Education has ignored. By bypassing this process, the state has turned a manageable fiscal issue into a full-scale industrial war. Trust between the two parties has bottomed out.

Another round of talks is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but expectations remain low. The unions have ordered their members to stay away from faculty offices and finance departments until they see a 40 per cent adjustment on paper. For students, this means a return to the familiar, painful rhythm of disrupted calendars and padlocked gates. The government must now decide if saving a few billion naira is worth the total collapse of the university calendar.