Education

NLC Demands Payment Of Striking Varsity Workers’ Salaries

Published

2 years ago

Jul 17, 2022.

Yinka Akanbi

The request for the payment of the workers is one of two demands the top labour union made in a statement on Sunday, five months after a strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began
Other unions in public universities have since commenced industrial action, strengthening the ASUU strike which started on February 14

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has faulted the Federal Government over its handling of the industrial actions that have grounded activities in public universities.

It is also calling on the Federal Government to pay the salaries of the striking workers, which it said had since “been frozen on the premise of the so-called ‘no work-no pay’ policy”.

The request for the payment of the workers is one of two demands the top labour union made in a statement on Sunday, five months after a strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began.

Other unions in public universities have since commenced industrial action, strengthening the ASUU strike which started on February 14, disrupting the education of millions of Nigerian students.

In the statement signed by its President, Ayuba Waba, 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’s statement titled ‘Federal Government Not Negotiating In Good Faith to resolve the crisis in Nigeria’s Public Universities’, said of particular concern are reports that the government may have rejected a report by a committee it set up over the strike.

“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,” the statement read in part.

“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.

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“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.”

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