ASUU Orders Members To Resume Duty Today
With effect from Friday at 12:01, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are required to resume all previously discontinued services.
This was said in a statement made by Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the president of ASUU, following the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) emergency meeting on Friday in Abuja.
According to Osodeke, the purpose of the meeting was to assess the events since the union’s August 29 announcement of an indefinite strike action.
For the avoidance of doubt, he added, the problems include funding for public university revitalization, earned academic benefits, the growth of public universities, visitation panels, and the publication of white papers.
Other initiatives, he continued, include revision of the 2009 Agreement and the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), a broad-spectrum program designed to prevent crime and offer an alternative payment platform for the university system.
NEC expressed disappointment that the points under contention have not yet been adequately resolved, according to the president of ASUU.
“However, as a law-abiding union and in deference to appeals by Mr President and in recognition of the efforts of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, and other well-meaning Nigerians.
“ASUU NEC resolved to suspend the strike action embarked upon on Feb. 14.
“Consequently, all members of ASUU are hereby directed to resume all services hitherto withdrawn with effect from 12:01 on Friday, Oct. 14, ‘’he said.
Osodeke, however, noted that during the intervening period, the Minister of Labour and Employment, through a referral, approached the National Industrial Court (NIC).
According to him, for the interpretation of “the provision of sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 18 (1) of the Trade Dispute Act, Cap T8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
“Whether the on-going prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities which started since Feb. 14 is legal even after statutory apprehension by the Minister of Labour and Employment?
“In addition, he asked for an interlocutory order against the continuation of the strike,’’he added.
He said that the National Industrial Court, in its wisdom, ordered ASUU to begin work while the substantive complaint was being decided.
According to our counsel and the nature of the order, Osodeke said, the interlocutory injunction issued by the Court of Appeal against our Union must be appealed.
He claimed that while the Court of Appeal recognized the Union’s appeal’s legal justifications, it upheld the lower court’s decision nonetheless.
“It ordered our union to comply with the ruling of the lower court as condition precedent for the appeal to be heard, ‘’he said.
NAN reports that ASUU embarked on the rollover strike on Feb.14 over failure of the Federal Government to meet the demands of the union.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, after what he described as “failed negotiations”, dragged the striking lecturers to the National Industrial Court.
On September 21, the National Industrial Court ordered ASUU to end the strike.
The Federal Government’s motion on notice requesting that the lecturers go back to the classrooms was allowed by the court.
The trial judge, Polycarp Hamman, stopped ASUU from continuing the industrial action in his decision regarding the interlocutory injunction.
However, ASUU appealed the case to the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division through its principal attorney, Mr. Femi Falana.
