Following the decision by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, to call off its strike. The Federal Government warned that the union obey the court order and stop misleading its members.
This was disclosed in a statement by Dr. Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, on Sunday in Abuja.
He noted that the union should cease taking laws into its hands by continuing the strike.
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What he said:
Dr. Chris Ngige said The union is dishonest and misleading its members and the general public, citing that it has filed an appeal as well as a stay of execution of the order of NICN on Sept. 2, though it has none of this.
“Rather, ASUU only filed an application for permission to appeal the order. Also attached to the application, is a proposed notice of appeal which it intends to file if the leave to appeal is granted.
“The application for a stay of execution as of this moment has not even been listed for hearing. Where then is ASUU coming from?
“It is therefore contemptuous, dishonest, and misleading for the union to tell its members that it has not only appealed the interlocutory injunction by the NICN, directing it to call off the strike and return to work but that it also has a stay of execution,’’ he said.
He urged the Union to end the strike and stop taking laws into its own hands, citing that “the Federal Government strongly frowns at this”.
He added that the act is in defiance of the interlocutory injunction by the NICN which restrained the union from further action, and also accused the leadership of the union of misinforming and misleading its members and warned of consequences of contempt of court order.
On renegotiation of salaries and wages of lecturers, he said he sympathises with ASUU just like other Nigerian workers.
“The economy is a bad and hard time, biting hard on everybody. ASUU deserves no blame.
“The Briggs Committee was the product of reconciliation of my ministry, which had to move to the ASUU’s direct employers – Ministry of Education for a Collective Bargaining Agreement, so we can arrive on what is good to be paid to ASUU, subject to approval by the President
“The President has a Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages chaired by the Minister of Finance, with me as co-chair and other members – National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, Budget Office, etc.
“Every MDA, whether drawing from the treasury or not, must pass through this committee on any issue concerning salaries for approval, before transmission to the President. The report of the Briggs Committee did not, unfortunately, pass this route” he added
What you should know
- Nairametrics reported last month that The National Industrial Court ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to call off its protracted strike action, after the FG filed an interlocutory injunction requesting that the court stops the strike that has been ongoing since February 14, 2022.
- Justice Polycard Hamman ordered ASUU to retrain from continuing with the industrial action pending the determination of the suit.