The Federal Government’s registration of the two factional unions, according to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, has prompted the union to file a complaint with the National Industrial Court (NIC).
“ASUU will appear in court. It will be the NIC,” ASUU’s attorney Femi Falana said on Thursday on Channels Television.
The news was also verified by Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, President of ASUU, in a conversation with our reporter on Thursday morning.
“Falana is our attorney. So, yes, it is accurate,” Osodeke said when asked to confirm the news.
The Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics were both officially recognized by the federal government on Tuesday (NAMDA).
As negotiations between ASUU and the government broke down in the midst of the more than seven-month strike by academics at public institutions, the two factional unions were registered.
The two organizations will coexist with ASUU, according to the Minister of Labor and Employment, Chris Ngige, who also noted that they would be granted the same advantages and rights as other academic unions in the higher education system.
Falani, a senior lawyer in Nigeria, said that the registration of CONUA and NAMDA was unlawful According to the Trade Unions Act, only one union may function in each sector, he said.
“Two unions cannot exist in the same industry. In Nigeria, only a union may register as the representative of all academics.
“That is the core of the categorization of labor unions since the government reorganized the unions and put all academics and non-academics together because we used to have mushrooms in the First Republic. Two or three cannot exist on the same field, he remarked.
Falana said that the Erasmus Osawe V Registrar of Trade Unions Supreme Court decision addressed the growth of trade unions.
The senior attorney said that the Supreme Court determined “your right of association is not totally restricted; it is also governed by the Trade Unions Act so that there will not be a proliferation of trade unions”
Since February 14, 2022, ASUU has been on strike in protest of, among other things, underpaid allowances, subpar welfare, and payment software.
Leave a Reply