The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian University (SSANU) yesterday warned the committee renegotiating the 2009 agreements for university-based unions against approving any disparity in their conditions of service.
SSANU National President Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, in a statement, faulted the alleged proposed salary disparity by the Nimi-Briggs Committee for the university staff.
Ibrahim said: “We have read in the media that there is a proposal for the review of salary for university staff with a differential of teaching staff taking between 108 to 180 per cent and 10 per cent for non-teaching staff.
“We are shocked to read that the Nimi Briggs Committee has submitted a report to the government while we only met with them twice.
“To say the least, SSANU is not happy with the pace of work in that committee.
“While we only met twice with them, we are aware that they have met with the teaching staff not less than ten times.
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“We are surprised how the so-called percentage was allocated to non-teaching staff.
“We have not had the opportunity of discussing salary review with them because the committee stated that they have not gotten the approval of their principal to discuss that.
“We are seriously shocked and taken aback by the media report that a certain miserable, unacceptable percentage was recommended to non-teaching staff.
“We, therefore, advise that the committee should as a matter of urgency, conclude renegotiation with us.”
The SSANU leader told the committee to immediately reconvene to conclude the assignment given to it by discussing frankly and truthfully the 2009 renegotiation document presented to it.
He added: “The university system is a universal system comprising two broad categories of staff: the teaching, and the non-teaching staff and the salary consideration has always been the same except for allowances.
“Therefore, any attempt to give preferential treatment to any group will not only be unfair but unjust and inhumane.
“The way the university operates, we are all in the system because of the students. They are the most important stakeholder in the university project.”