The situation seems dire for members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the ongoing dispute between the federal government and university workers over salaries withheld from last year’s industrial action. The National Industrial Court (NIC) recently denied ASUU’s petition against the Minister of Labour and Employment and the Federation’s Accountant General, compounding university workers’ difficulties.
The protracted industrial action by ASUU in 2022, spanning eight months, centered on issues related to the revitalization of public universities and a review of lecturers’ salaries and allowances. Despite efforts to resolve the strike through meetings, the federal government resorted to legal action, leading to the NIC granting an interlocutory injunction restraining ASUU from continuing the strike until the substantive suit was determined.
Upon the union’s return to work in November last year, members were surprised by the federal government’s payment of half salaries for only 18 working days in October, invoking the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy. The federal government, led by then Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, defended the pro-rata payment, aligning it with the number of days worked after the suspension of the strike.
In response, ASUU sought payment of salaries from February 14 to October 7, 2022, when the strike ended. However, the NIC upheld the ‘no work, no pay’ rule, supporting the federal government’s right to withhold salaries during industrial actions.
Undeterred, ASUU filed a separate lawsuit in June this year, challenging the discriminatory treatment of its members. The union questioned the withholding of salaries despite the payment to other unions during industrial actions.
Last week, the NIC, presided over by Hon. Justice Benedict Kanyip, dismissed ASUU’s case, deeming it an abuse of court process, frivolous, and vexatious. The court ordered ASUU to pay the sum of five hundred thousand Naira (N500,000) to the Attorney-General of the Federation within 30 days.
Prior to the court’s judgment, President Bola Tinubu had granted a partial waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ order against ASUU members. The waiver, approved with conditions, allowed previously striking ASUU members to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months withheld during the industrial action.
ASUU, however, has not received official communication from the government regarding the waiver, according to Comrade Nobert Oyibo Eze, the ASUU UNN branch chairman. Expressing dissatisfaction with the government’s handling of the situation, Eze emphasized the need for fair treatment of workers and criticized the political class for prioritizing personal interests over public welfare.
He warned that the country would face dire consequences if the courts ceased to uphold justice and stressed the importance of considering the people’s interests for the nation to progress. Eze highlighted the disparity between government expenditures on lawmakers and the neglect of critical sectors such as education and healthcare.
