The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) has squared off with the federal government, advising it to withdraw a circular directing that workers of staff schools should not be captured in the 2022 budget.

The President of SSANU, Mohammed Haruna, gave the advice while speaking with journalists on Sunday in Abuja, threatening that the union would embark on industrial action if the government refused to heed the union’s request.

Mr Haruna was reacting to the alleged circular from the Budget Office directing that teachers in staff schools should be removed from the Consolidated Salary Scale, CONTISS, in the 2022 budget.

He explained that reopening a matter already decided by the National Industrial Court would affect the industrial harmony enjoyed in the universities, reiterating there is a subsisting court judgment favouring the union.

He argued that if the government implemented the directive, over 3,000 of its members would be affected. The SSANU boss accused the government of violating its agreement with SSANU.

“Well, the issue is that we are also taken aback by the recent negative development we just saw last week that the federal government, through the budget office, directed that universities should expunge or remove the list of our members who teach in the university demonstration schools.

”This means that they should not be captured in the CONTISS salary table, while the government is also planning to put them in a different salary table called CONPISS, the consolidated public service salary scale.

“This is a negation of our agreement with the government because those members of ours who are in the university demonstration schools are bona fide members of university staff,” he said.

Mr Haruna also noted that the government attempted a similar action six years ago, resulting in a lawsuit.

“We got a judgment in our favour. It was interpreted that members of staff in the universities who teach in the university staff, schools or demonstration schools are bona fide members of staff of universities, as employed by councils,” said SSANU president.