The Federal Government’s handling of the industrial actions that have halted operations at public universities has drawn criticism from the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
Ayuba Wabba, the NLC President, made this call in a statement issued on Sunday, July 16.
Additionally, it is requesting that the Federal Government pay the striking workers’ paychecks, which it claims have been “blocked on the basis of the so-called “no work, no pay” policy.”
Five months after the start of the Academic Staff Organization of Universities’ (ASUU) strike, the main labor union issued a statement on Sunday with two demands, one of which is the payment of the workers.
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ASUU strike, which began on February 14 and has since been strengthened by other unions in public universities, has disrupted the education of millions of Nigerian students.
The NLC demanded;
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.
The NLC is also troubled by the development and the sincerity of the Federal Government in its negotiations with the university unions.
Of particular concern are reports that the government may have rejected a report by a committee it set up over the strike.
The statement read in part;
The Nigeria Labour Congress is concerned about reports widely disseminated by the media both online and traditional positing that the Federal Government may have 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.
First, we wish to posit that the purpose for setting up the Nimi Briggs 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 has ratified.
Second, 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 includes 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.
Solidarity Protest
The NLC also lent its voice to the ongoing industrial dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as it has announced plans to commence a 2-day nationwide protest on Tuesday, July 26, in solidarity with the ongoing strike action by the lecturers union.
The planned protest is aimed at pressurizing the Federal Government to conclude negotiations with striking universities unions and ensure that public universities resume normal activities, among others.
This disclosure is contained in a circular issued by the NLC to all the state chairmen of the union, and signed by its National President, Ayuba Wabba, and the General Secretary, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja.
The circular from Wabba partly reads;
We bring you fraternal greetings from the national secretariat of the NLC.
In line with the decisions of the National Executive Council meeting of the NLC held on June 30, 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.
According to the circular, the protest would be held on
Tuesday, July 26, 2022, and Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in all the states of the Federation and Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.
The circular added;
Take-off point is the NLC State Secretariats and the Labour House, Abuja. You are requested to immediately convene the meetings of your SAC to disseminate this information and to fully mobilise workers in the states for this very important protest for good governance.
