Breaking: NLC Threatens Nationwide Strike, Reason Emerges
- Joe Ajaero's led NLC expressed concern over the unpaid salaries of some of its member unions in the education sector
- The labour union vowed to embark on a nationwide strike if the four months' salaries withheld by the government were not paid to members of its sister union, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)
- This is after the police stopped the SSANU and its sister union, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, from embarking on a nationwide protest
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
After reaching an agreement on the new minimum wage on Thursday, July 18, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) strongly warned the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu over the withheld salaries of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions.
Source: Facebook
Why labour is going on strike
In a statement by its head of public affairs, Benson Upah, the labour union said the government will court a nationwide protest if it fails to heed its warnings.
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As reported by The Punch, the NLC also criticised the commissioner of police, FCT command, Bennet Igweh, over the alleged harassment of the protesting university workers.
Recall that the police on Thursday, July 18, stopped the Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions from embarking on protest in Abuja.
This happened after ASUU president Professor Emmanuel Osodeke lamented that none of the agreements reached with the federal government had been implemented.
The education union clarified that a strike is not imminent if agreements are implemented by the FG within the next two weeks.
In a swift reaction to the development, NLC said:
“The FCT Police Command Commissioner, Compol Bennett Igweh deservedly earned our outrage and contempt by violently breaking up a peaceful protest at Unity Fountain on Thursday, July 18, 2024, by members of two of our affiliates, NASU and SSANU.
“The behaviour of the police is an affront to the 1999 constitution (as amended).
“The two unions had exhausted all means lawful over a long period including a warning strike as a means for getting their salaries paid.”
Tinubu pledges autonomy to Nigerian universities
In another development, Legit.ng reported that President Tinubu said he is convinced that granting autonomy to Nigerian universities will bring about excellence.
Tinubu said his administration is committed to repositioning tertiary institutions in the country. The president said his government plans to put universities on a pedestal that would enable them to compete with their counterparts in any part of the world.
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Engr. Abubakar Momoh disclosed that Tinubu’s administration is working towards the introduction of a policy that will grant full autonomy to universities.
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Source: Legit.ng
