2 weeks ago
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Former lawmaker and one-time statesmanlike aide, Senator Ita Enang, has urged the Federal Government to initiate contempt proceedings against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) implicit its ongoing strike.
In an interrogation connected Wednesday successful Abuja, Enang, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), argued that ASUU’s existent concern enactment contravened a subsisting tribunal order, which ruled that assemblage lecturers are not entitled to salaries for periods they are connected strike.
It would beryllium recalled that ASUU embarked connected a two-week informing onslaught connected October 13 to property location its long-standing demands, including improved funding, assemblage autonomy, and outgo of withheld salaries.
Enang maintained that the onslaught enactment was an effort to compel the Federal Government to interruption the court’s ruling.
“They are going connected onslaught to compel the Federal Government to disobey a tribunal order,” helium said.
“If you privation to spell connected strike, you indispensable admit that nether the instrumentality which governs you, you forfeit your wage for that period.”
He drew parallels with planetary labour practices, noting that successful countries similar the US and UK unions support onslaught funds to enactment members during concern actions, arsenic they are not paid by their employers during specified periods.
“My proposal to ASUU is to telephone disconnected the onslaught and instrumentality to enactment portion continuing negotiations with the Federal Government,” Enang stated.
He further emphasised the government’s dual responsibility—not lone to ASUU but besides to the students, whose acquisition and aboriginal proceed to beryllium disrupted by predominant concern actions.
“The world unit national indispensable recognize that onslaught comes astatine a cost. The instrumentality is wide connected this—no work, nary pay. They should spell backmost and work the judgement, particularly paragraph two, which intelligibly states that the play workers are connected onslaught shall not beryllium counted for wage purposes.”
According to the erstwhile lawmaker, each cardinal issues raised by ASUU person been addressed “passionately” by the Federal Ministry of Education, and helium questioned the rationale for the renewed onslaught threat.
Citing planetary labour conventions and Nigeria’s Trade Disputes Act, Enang reiterated that the “no work, nary pay” argumentation was some ineligible and accordant with planetary champion practices.
He warned that immoderate determination by the Federal Government to wage salaries for the play of the onslaught would itself magnitude to contempt of court.
“The Federal Government indispensable not beryllium seen to articulation ASUU successful flouting the law. The tribunal was asked to construe Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, which deals with outgo of wages during strikes oregon lockouts,” helium said.
He praised the caller stance of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who had directed Vice Chancellors not to wage salaries to striking lecturers successful enactment with the no-work-no-pay policy.
“I impulse the Minister to spell a measurement further and record contempt charges against ASUU. This volition nonstop a beardown connection that tribunal orders indispensable beryllium respected.”
Enang concluded by reaffirming the request for constructive dialog but warned that ineligible boundaries indispensable beryllium respected by each parties involved.
English (US) ·