The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities have expressed displeasure over the inauguration of a re-negotiation committee by the Federal Government.
The committee was inaugurated to re-negotiate the contentious 2009 agreement with university-based unions.
The Joint Action Committee, JAC of both unions said this in a statement jointly signed by Mr Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU President on Wednesday in Abuja.
Recall that the re-negotiation committee was inaugurated on Tuesday by the Minister of Education.
The JAC said the unions were not given due recognition.
According to the statement, ”the JAC of NASU and SSANU hereby strongly expresses its displeasure at the inauguration of the re-negotiation committee of the 2009 agreements with university-based Unions on Oct. 15.
“Firstly, the reference on the letters of invitation to NASU and SSANU indicated ASUU, implying that the letters originated from ASUU’s file rather than from the files of our two Unions.
“The event appeared to have been primarily focused on ASUU with the other unions seemingly included as an afterthought.
“The minister of education’s inauguration speech centred almost entirely on ASUU, with only brief and cursory mentions of the other unions,” it said.
It said that the preferential treatment given to the ASUU leadership at the inauguration was unfair to the other unions.
“To confirm our fears, at the venue of the inauguration, the two unions witnessed a most humiliating experience.
“The President of ASUU was placed on what was referred to as the “responsibility table” and the presidents of other unions looked on from their positions of “irresponsibility” from the proceeding,” it said.
NASU, SSANU fume over inauguration of re-negotiation committee by FG