The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the federal government to urgently take necessary action and call the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, to order “before his lies plunge Nigeria into serious crisis.”
Chairman Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto branch of the union, Comrade M. N. Almustapha, said this at a press conference held at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Sokoto Sunday.
Almustapha spoke against the backdrop of a recent interview the minister granted to Arise TV.
The union leader said from the interview, the minister had “misinformed Nigerians about the actual state of the ASUU-FGN reconciliation efforts”.
He said: “Ngige pitiably and shamefully said that Medical lecturers are at work, they are working.
“Sokoto has graduated their medical students, they are reasonable people, they have tested the strike, and saw that it produces no result, yes they did it the last time.
“So today, they have written, their Vice Chancellor has approved that they are at work. The labour controllers in those states have also confirmed that they are at work and I have advised the finance minister and they are processing their payments,” Almustapha quoted Ngige as saying.
The ASUU chair described the minister’s statement as “a political and moral insensitivity of Dr. Ngige through inhumane concoction of lies against ASUU, UDUS.”
He said the entire members of the ASUU-UDUS branch, including the College of Health Sciences were “fully on a total and comprehensive strike” which commenced on February 14, 2022, and had never had the intention of calling it off until the federal government “wakes up to its responsibilities”.
“Contrary to the claims of Dr. Ngige, there is no letter written by the Vice Chancellor of Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto or any his representatives depicting that medical lectures are not on strike to any agency of government from UDUS.
“The university has not graduated any student since the commencement of the strike action in February 2022,” Almustapha added.
NLC
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has directed its members nationwide to begin nationwide mobilisation July 26 and 27, 2022 to protest against what it called the federal government’s attitude towards the ongoing ASUU strike and the nation’s education sector in general.
In a circular dated July 15th, 2022 and signed by the duo of NLC President Comrade Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, the Congress said the protest would hold in all the state capitals and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.
The circular further said the take-off points for the protest would be state secretariats of the NLC and Labour House for FCT.
It said: “We bring you fraternal greetings from the national secretariat of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC). In line with the decisions of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Nigeria Labour Congress held on the 30th of June 2022, we have scheduled as follows the National Days of Protest to get our children back to school and support our unions in Nigeria’s public universities fighting for quality education.”
“You are requested to convene relevant organs meetings of your union to disseminate this information and to fully mobilize your members for this very important protest for good governance,” the statement further added.
In a related development, the organised labour has described as unfortunate reports that federal government rejected its own Nimi-Briggs Committee on the premise of alleged disparity between the pay rise allocated to university teaching staff and the non-teaching staff.
The congress further said the purpose of setting up the Nimi Briggs-led committee was to conform with the fundamental principles of the rights of trade unions to collective bargaining as guaranteed by ILO Convention Number 98 which Nigeria ratified.
They said: “We wish to point out that one of the cardinal principles of collective bargaining is the Principle of Negotiation in Good Faith.
“Elements of this principle include conducting genuine and constructive negotiations, making every effort to reach an agreement, avoiding unjustified delays and complying with the agreements when they are signed by the negotiating parties.
“Since the Federal Government decided to set up the Nimi-briggs Committee to make recommendations on the review of the salaries of workers in Nigeria’s university, the negotiating unions and the Nigeria Labour Congress have been kept in the dark on the report of the Committee.
“It is, therefore, a shocker for us to read from the media snippets of a report of what is strictly the product of a negotiation between the Federal Government Committee and the concerned trade unions.
“Our first response is to aver that this development gravely betrays and undermines the principle of negotiation in good faith as it manifests crass disrespect by government for trade unions in Nigeria’s universities.
“Given the foregoing and in line with the resolutions of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigeria Labour Congress which took place on the 30th of June 2022, we demand the Federal Government should immediately conclude the ongoing negotiation with trade unions in Nigeria’s universities and be prepared to commence implementation of whatever Collective Bargaining Agreement arising therefrom so that public universities in Nigeria can resume normal activities; and
“The Federal Government should immediately pay the salaries of striking university workers which had been frozen on the premise of the so-called “no work-no pay” policy especially as recommended by the leaders of Nigeria’s two major faiths.
“We demand that the Federal Government meets these demands in line with the resolutions of the statutory organs of the Congress. All the decisions of the NEC have been activated accordingly with a circular to affiliates and state councils of Nigeria Labour Congress.”
