NLC to Begin Nationwide Protest in Solidarity with ASUU, Reveals Date
- Nigeria's number one pressure group, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), will commence a nationwide protest on Tuesday, July 26
- According to the NLC, the protest is in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
- The academic union have been on industrial strike action since February and the month of July makes it five months
FCT, Abuja - Amid the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) says it will be embarking on a nationwide protest in solidarity with the academic union, The Leadership newspaper reported.
According to the report, other affiliated pressure groups and unions will also hit the streets of Nigeria and join the nationwide solidarity protest slated for Tuesday, July 26
Source: Facebook
The NLC made this known via a circular issued on Sunday, July 17, giving a prior notification about the planned solidarity protest, Legit.ng gathered.
As contained in the circular, the national president of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba stated that the solidarity protest is being staged in support of public universities, students over the five-month-old industrial action
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NLC slam FG for breaching agreement with ASUU
The NLC boss said:
“It is a shocker for us 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 faith as it manifests crass disrespect by the government for trade unions in Nigeria’s universities.
Second, the circumstances surrounding the work of the Nimi-Briggs Committee also portrays the disposition of government as mortally unserious unfortunately in such a grievous matter as the locking up of public universities for nearly five months.”
NLC calls for immediate payment of lecturer's and non-lecturers staff salaries
The NLC, however, urged the federal government to finalise negotiations with ASUU as well as the implementation of the agreements in other for students to resume school activities across the federation.
Similarly, the NLC made another case for ASUU, urging that President Muhammadu Buhari's administration start the immediate payment of salaries of lecturers and non-academic staff who have been deprived of their remuneration based on the premise of “no work no pay”.
NLC said:
“We demand that the federal government meets these demands in line with the resolutions of the statutory organs of the congress. All the decisions of the NEC have been activated accordingly with a circular to affiliates and state councils of Nigeria Labour Congress.”
ASUU Accuse Ngige of misleading Buhari over ongoing strike
Meanwhile, the leadership of ASUU has accused the minister for Labour and employment, Dr Chris Ngige, of misleading President Muhammadu Buhari.
Professor Emannuel Osodeke made this known via an interview with Arise Television.
Osodeke also opened up that the union does not know anything about the figures making the rounds about negotiations.
Ngige says Buhari cannot sign collective bargaining agreement
Contrastingly, the minister of labour and employment, Dr Chris Ngige, says there is no collective bargaining agreement between ASUU and the federal government.
Chris Ngige said if ever there was an agreement, President Muhammadu Buhari is not in the position to sign it.
He said what was tabled before the federal government was a proposal and not an agreement.
Source: Legit.ng
