Barring a fast resolution of the disagreement between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), that has kept students of public universities at home for over five months, the country may witness a shutdown of services next week, following plans by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), to embark on a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 in solidarity with the trade unions in the Nigeria public universities and others.
Coming on the heels of revelations by prominent lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana, last week that ASUU members were ready to return to the lecture rooms, the NLC President, Mr Ayuba Wabba, according to a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) made the disclosure of the planned protest in a circular jointly signed by Mr Emmanuel Ugboaja, General Secretary of the Congress on Sunday in Abuja.
The circular, issued on July 15, was addressed to the Chairpersons and Secretaries of NLC State Councils.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and other trade unions in the education sector have been on strike for over five months over alleged failure of government to keep to agreement entered with the unions.
The demands of the striking workers include issues bordering on funding of universities, salaries and earned allowances of lecturers.
According to Wabba, the action is in line with the decisions of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Nigeria Labour Congress on June 30.
“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.
“The dates are on July 26 and 27 at all the state capitals of the federation and Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and take off point are at 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, ’’ he said.
Also, in a separate statement, Wabba faulted the Federal Government’s purported rejection of the Nimi-Briggs Committee report of the university based union’s negotiations.
According to him, the alleged action is inconsistent with the fundamental principles of the ILO Convention Number 98 ratified by Nigeria and which core principle is Negotiation in Good Faith.
“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.
“That is 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.
Wabba pointed out that one of the cardinal principles of collective bargaining was the Principle of Negotiation in Good fate.
He noted that elements of the principle included conducting genuine and constructive negotiations.
Wabba however, noted that since the government set up the Nimi-briggs Committee to make recommendations on the review of the salaries of workers in Nigeria’s universities, the unions and NLC had been kept in the dark on the report of the Committee.
According to him, it is a shocker 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 fate as it manifests crass disrespect by government for trade unions in Nigeria’s universities,’’ he said.
He said the Congress therefore demanded that the Federal Government should immediately conclude the ongoing negotiation with trade unions in Nigeria’s universities.
He also called on government to be prepared to commence the implementation of whatever Collective Bargaining Agreement arising from it.
“They should also 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,’’ he said.
Everyday.ng recalls that while receiving governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), legislators and political leaders at his residence in Daura, Katsina State, last Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari lamented that the strike was months old was taking a toll on the psychology of parents, students and other stakeholders, throwing up many moral issues that already beg for attention.
“We hope that ASUU will sympathise with the people on the prolonged strike. Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake,” he added.
Days later, last Thursday, Falana called on the government to sign a renegotiated agreement with the union.
“Based on our consultation with the leadership of ASUU, we have confirmed that the entire members of ASUU are fully prepared to call off the strike as soon as the FG/ASUU Renegotiated Agreement is executed by the Federal Government.
“In the circumstance, we are compelled to call on President Buhari to end the industrial action by directing the Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu to execute the Renegotiated Agreement. The Agreement should be executed as soon as possible in the public interest….
“It is public knowledge that the Federal Government inaugurated the Renegotiation Committee headed by Professor Munzali Jubrin in December 2020.
“The Committee was saddled with the sole responsibility of addressing the demand of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) pertaining to the task of revamping all federal universities in the country.
“After extensive consultations with all the relevant stakeholders, the Committee completed the national (assignment and) submitted a comprehensive report to the Federal Government in May 2021.
“Regrettably, the Agreement was not signed by the Federal Government 9 months after the submission of the said report. Hence, ASUU embarked on the current industrial action.”
According to him, due to “the dissatisfaction of the Federal Government with certain aspects of the report of the Jibrin Renegotiate Committee,” and “instead of ironing out the grey areas in the agreement the Federal Government turned round to set up another Renegotiated Committee under the leadership of Professor Nimi Briggs in March 2022.
“The Committee has also submitted its report to the Federal Government. Even though the Federal government and the ASUU have reached an understanding to call off the ongoing strike based on the execution of the report of the Briggs Committee, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, has announced the purported rejection of the report.”
Alleging that Ngige was not authorised to reject the agreement, he adds, “the implication of rejecting the report of the Briggs Renegotiated Committee is that the ASUU strike will continue indefinitely,” maintaining that only the execution of the agreement would get ASUU to budge and recall its members to lecture rooms of public universities.