The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal government met Monday evening to discuss the former’s nearly two-month strike action.
Only the ASUU Renegotiation Committee was claimed to have attended the meeting.
the contested university workers’ benefit
package “in keeping with current reality,”
but ASUU urged that the renegotiated plan be adopted. According to Ngige, the Labor Minister, the committee has a six-weeks mandate, as established by the Unions’ Memorandum of Action MOA
According to Ngige, Government frowns at the approach by ASUU in pursuing its demands.
During the meeting, Ngige advised ASUU’s leadership to find a more effective way of pressuring the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission, NUC, to follow through on agreements reached with the government rather than “rushing to strike” every time there was a disagreement.
“I am not Minister of Education. I cannot go to the Education Minister and dictate to him how to run his place. But I told ASUU that you should be bombarding them at the Federal Ministry of Education for this to be moved forward.
“There are many ways to do so. If you go to the labour act, there is something called picketing. You can picket. The strike is an ultimate thing. Picketing means that you can stay in the corridor, clapping or singing. Workers are permitted to do so.
“But I am tired of every time there is a disagreement, it is a strike. And the bosses in the Federal Ministry of Education don’t feel the strike. It is the children and some of us parents that have our children in public schools” he said.
“Why won’t I support if ASUU and their Unions now want a renegotiation of their conditions of service, which is the main thing in the proposal by the previous Committee.”
Prof. Nimi Briggs, chairman of the 2009 FG and university-based union renegotiation Committee, said his group is meeting all parties in order to find a peaceful solution to the ASUU disagreement.
Meanwhile, Dr Salawu Lawal, the ASUU zonal coordinator, said the strike will continue until their demands are met.
