Our patience running out over delayed 2009 agreement renegotiation — SSANU

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities has expressed concern over the prolonged delay in concluding the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement between university unions and the Federal Government, warning that its members are becoming increasingly agitated as the process drags on.

National Vice President and Chairman of SSANU, Western Zone, Dr. Abdussobour Salaam, said the union had exercised considerable patience over the years but cautioned that members’ tolerance was rapidly wearing thin.

Speaking at the 79th Zonal Executive Council Meeting of the union held at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, on Thursday, Salaam said the meeting brought together representatives from 26 universities across the South-West to deliberate on issues affecting members, including career progression, remuneration, conflict management and the unresolved 2009 agreement.

“Our charge here is to see that those bordering issues, those pressing issues that affect our members, particularly the issue of renegotiation of our 2009 agreement, which has been long in coming, are resolved within the shortest possible time,” he said.

According to him, the renegotiation process, chaired by former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, is nearing completion despite several challenges encountered along the way.

“We are almost concluding the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government. The renegotiation is chaired by Yayale Ahmed; we are almost done with it, but it has not been without challenges,” Salaam stated.

He disclosed that certain government officials had at some point threatened to derail the exercise but commended President Bola Tinubu for sustaining the platform that enabled negotiations to continue.

“At a point in time, we had some government officials that were almost truncating the whole process, but we thank President Bola Tinubu for providing this platform of renegotiation,” he said.

The SSANU leader recalled that the 2009 agreement stipulated that negotiations should be reviewed every three years, lamenting that successive administrations failed to adhere to the timeline.

“The last negotiation was in 2009 and it was part of the agreement that every three years, the agreement would be renegotiated. We were supposed to have another one by 2012, then another one in 2015, 2018 and 2021,” he said.

While commending Ahmed for what he described as integrity and exemplary leadership throughout the process, Salaam urged President Tinubu not to allow individuals or groups not directly involved in the negotiations to frustrate the final stages of the exercise.

“We are pleading with President Tinubu not to allow extra bodies that are not parties to the renegotiation to truncate the process, particularly now that we are getting to the concluding part,” he said.

He warned that SSANU members were becoming increasingly impatient over the delay in signing the agreement, noting that the union had already suspended a previous strike to create room for dialogue.

Salaam said that “Already, the patience of our members is running thin. We have already gone on a strike that was later suspended to allow the negotiations to proceed. The patience of our members is running thin and at the appropriate time the relevant organs of the union shall make a pronouncement to direct our members to embark on a process that will force the government to ensure that the long-overdue renegotiation is duly completed.

“Our members are becoming highly restive. They are becoming greatly agitated by the delay in the signing of the agreements. So we want to call on the Federal Government to conclude all the arrangements for the signing within the shortest time possible.”

Despite the growing frustration, Salaam maintained that SSANU remained committed to dialogue and peaceful engagement rather than confrontation.

“SSANU is however not belligerent, but it doesn’t mean that we are stupid. What it means is that we would ensure that before we embark on any industrial action, we have exhausted all mechanisms for peaceful engagement, all mechanisms in terms of communication, letters, reminders and what have you.

“We believe that management and union relationship must be symbiotic and not predatory such that one party will try to consume the other party. Without the union, there can be no management and without the management there can be no union.

“As long as the management of our universities continue to operate an open-door policy, engaging with the union from time to time, then there shall be no place of industrial unrest between the union and the institutions,” he said.

The SSANU zonal chairman further used the occasion to advocate improved welfare measures for Nigerians amid rising economic hardship, urging the Federal Government to devise innovative ways of cushioning the effects of subsidy removal, inflation and the rising cost of living.

He said, “The government must think outside the box at this material point in time to see how they can ameliorate the hardships people are going through.

“The cost of living is at its highest level. Inflation is at its highest level. Government must be able to think outside the box to ensure that we do not have dead citizens in Nigeria.”

Salaam also renewed the union’s call for improved career progression opportunities for non-teaching staff, particularly through wider access to the CONTISS 15 salary grade level.

He lamented that many workers stagnate on CONTISS 14 for years despite possessing the competence and experience to advance.

“Our agitation over time has been that university managements should expand that ladder to enable our members to also climb to CONTISS 15,” he said.

Commending the management of Olabisi Onabanjo University for creating opportunities for eligible staff to attain the highest level in the non-teaching career structure, he noted that such initiatives would enhance career fulfilment and boost staff morale.

While declaring open the meeting, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Ayodeji Agboola represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Administration, Prof Oladipo Olubomehin hailed SSANU of the university for their steadfast support and cooperation, adding that the stability and academic excellence recorded by the university in recent time would have been impossible without the support of the union.

Agboola said his administration would therefore continue to accord staff welfare as top priority of his administration and would always work together with all the unions in the determined bid to take the university to higher height of academic excellence.

In his welcome speech, the OOU branch chairman of SSANU, Dr Abiodun Lamina lauded the university management for the prompt payment of salaries and the approval and implementation of of CONTISS 15 for the union members.