Kaduna varsity workers reject selective implementation, demand equal pay

The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Non-Academic Staff Union and National Association of Academic Technologists, Kaduna State University branch, has rejected the Kaduna State Government’s plan to implement the newly negotiated Federal Government agreement for academic staff alone.

The committee, which comprises SSANU, NASU and NAAT, described the proposed selective implementation as discriminatory and warned that excluding non-academic workers from the benefits of the agreement could undermine industrial harmony at the university.

The JAC stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its Acting Chairman, Comrade Aliyu Garba, and Secretary, Comrade Dahiru Musa, after its Executive Committee meeting held at the SSANU Conference Room, KASU, Kaduna.

The unions urged the state government to extend the implementation of the agreement to all recognised staff unions at the university, arguing that academic and non-academic workers jointly sustain the institution.

The committee said, “It is worthy of note that all the universities that implemented the FGN agreements have done so for all the unions in their respective universities without discrimination.”

It added that the Kaduna State Government should adopt an inclusive approach that recognises the contributions of all categories of workers to the development and effective administration of KASU.

The JAC warned that selective implementation could create divisions among workers, stressing that “no university can function effectively when any category of its workforce is left behind.”

The dispute followed recent negotiations between the Federal Government and university-based unions over improved conditions of service and other employment-related issues.

While academic unions have been at the forefront of negotiations with the Federal Government, non-academic unions have also consistently demanded recognition and equitable treatment in agreements affecting university workers.

The KASU JAC maintained that the benefits arising from negotiated agreements should not be restricted to one category of employees when the smooth running of the university depends on the collective efforts of academic and non-academic staff.

“The university is a collective enterprise, sustained by contributions of academic and non-academic staff alike. No category of workers should be deliberately excluded from benefits arising from negotiated agreements,” the committee stated.

The unions therefore called on the Kaduna State Government to ensure fairness and equal treatment in the implementation of the FGN/university-based unions agreements.

The JAC said extending the benefits to all recognised unions would promote equity and prevent avoidable industrial disputes within the university.

It declared, “We stand together. We speak with one voice. We will not be divided.”

The committee further stated, “One university, one workforce, one struggle. An injury to one is an injury to all.”