The Federal Government will on Thursday meet the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions.

The purpose of the meeting, which will take place at the Education Minister’s office, is to prevent a union walkout.

The meeting comes after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to pay them their four-month withholding wages or shut down colleges.

When the four university-based unions went on strike in 2022, the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, implemented the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy.

But President Bola Tinubu in October 2023 granted amnesty to the university workers and directed that four months of the withheld salaries should be paid.

The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, had also said the payment was for all the university workers who participated in the strike

President Tinubu ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities to receive their four months’ worth of withheld salaries; however, the other three unions, including the National Association of Academic Technologists, or NAAT, have not received their money, a development that has caused tension and raised the possibility of downsizing.