The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a four-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) or face nationwide industrial action.
The decision followed a closed-door meeting held at the Labour House in Abuja on Monday between NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, representatives of ASUU, and other affiliated unions in the education sector.
Ajaero said the congress reached the decision to reinforce its commitment to protecting the interests of workers and restoring stability to Nigeria’s public universities.
He noted that while discussions with the government had resumed, previous negotiations were often followed by non-implementation.
He stated, “We have decided to give the federal government four weeks to conclude all negotiations in this sector. They have started talks with ASUU, but the problem in this sector goes beyond ASUU.
“That is why we are extending this to four weeks. If after four weeks this negotiation is not concluded, the organs of the NEC will meet and take nationwide action that all workers in the country and all unions in the country will be involved in so that we get to the root of all this.
“The era of signing agreements, negotiations and threatening the unions involved – that era has come to an end.”
During the session, Ajaero criticised the federal government’s no-work-no-pay policy against striking university lecturers, describing it as punitive and counterproductive.
He said, “The policy, the so-called policy of no work, no pay, will henceforth be no pay, no work. You can’t benefit from an action you instigated.
“We have discovered that most, 90 per cent of strike actions in this country are caused by failure to obey agreements.”
The NLC President emphasised that the congress would no longer tolerate the government’s repeated breaches of negotiated agreements, insisting that workers would collectively resist any further delay in implementing key demands.
ASUU’s demands include the full implementation of the 2009 agreement, payment of three-and-a-half months of withheld salaries, sustainable university funding, protection from victimisation, settlement of outstanding promotion and salary arrears, and release of withheld cooperative and union deductions.
NewsNGR earlier reported that Monday’s meeting was attended by leaders of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP).
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