Following the decision of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) to embark on an indefinite strike, the Federal Government has threatened to stop the salaries of the university workers.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige issued the threat at a social dialogue between the unions and the Federal Government on Thursday, February 11.

Ngige accused the union of embarking on strike after it requested for an adjournment during the period of dialogue. He argued that the actions of the unions were against the status quo, and threatened that the federal government may be forced to invoke Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act 2004 and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) statutes, which permits it to stop the salaries of workers when they are on strike.

In response to the threat, the General Secretary of NASU, Peter Adeyemi said;

“How do you explain that you gave N40 billion to a sector and N10 billion was given to three unions. You cannot beat us and tell us not to cry."