The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has been urged by the federal government to drop its objections to the establishment of two new academic unions in Nigeria’s public university system.
The call was made by Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, in a statement released on Tuesday in Abuja and signed by Mr. Olajide Oshundun, Head, Press and Public Relations.
The Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMEDA) and the Congress for Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) are the two new unions.
The ministry in Abuja recently sent letters of recognition to CONUA and NAMEDA.
However, the NLC President, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, requested the removal of the letters sent to the unions in a letter to Ngige on the grounds that their registration broke the rules governing trade unionism.
In his response, Ngige had urged the NLC to uphold the spirit of the Freedom of Association by allowing the new unions to operate.
The minister claimed that the Trade Dispute Act of 2004 grants him exclusive authority to register new trade unions, whether by forming a new union or reorganizing existing ones.
He emphasized that the new unions were the by-products of regrouping and that two committees within his ministry had reviewed their applications.
In 2019, and again in 2022, the initial suggestion for approval was submitted with the participation of the Registrar of Trade Unions, according to him.
In order to improve system efficiency and efficacy, he added that CONUA and NAMDA were reorganized from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
More critical, the minister said, is to safeguard these groupings of university professors whose outlook varies from that of the unruly parent union.
“Comrade President, do not unnecessarily oppose the registration of these new academic unions.
“Because with ASUU, they are all like seeds on the academic soil of Nigeria and which will grow into big trees we don’t know, but the one which her trees are not bearing good fruits, we already know.
“So, as an uncle of the unions, oppose none in the spirit of Freedom of Association, ’’he said.
The Minister of Labor and Employment has the exclusive authority to establish new trade unions, either by registering new trade unions or by reorganizing existing ones, according to Section 3 (2) of the Trade Dispute Act, CAP T14, he noted.
The President of the NLC neglected to mention the problem in his account of court proceedings, he continued, adding that the matter was the subject of litigation in the most recent case before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN).
“The case of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) and the regrouped Federal Parastatals and Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPAN) from NUP where the Law on Regrouping of Trade Unions was extensively explored and ruled upon.
“Unlike the cases cited by the President of the NLC to misinform the general public and unfortunately lead astray his affiliate Trade Union – ASUU, ’’he said.
Ngige reminded that the NICN supported its earlier decision in this matter, which had indicated, among other things, that the Minister of Labour and Employment had the authority to register trade unions, in a suit with the number NICN/ABJ/219/2019.
The distinction within the section between creating a new trade union and regrouping existing ones was made, he pointed out, because the final clause of Section 3(2) does not address the reorganization of existing trade unions.
According him, we note your reference to Section 5 of the same Act, which deals with the “Procedure on receipt of application for registration” of a Trade Union.
“Section 5(4) in Particular states that the Registrar shall not register a trade union if it appears to him that any existing trade union is sufficiently representative of the interests of the class of workers concerned-CONUA members were ostracised and de-unionised by ASUU.
“Do we as the “Competent Authority” on Labour matters, including trade union services, pay homage to ASUU and acquiesce to leaving a large segment of lecturers and academia un-unionised, without protection, without a voice, and without a right at work.
“Are these workers not covered by the same ILO Conventions nos. 87 & 97?”
Ngige stated on NAMDA that medical practitioners who teach in universities were opposed to the ASUU’s ongoing, unlawful strikes.
“They said the strike had disrupted medical training and caused consequential damages to the educational system and by implication, the quantity and quality of future medical doctors and dentists in Nigeria.
“They have been teaching and some have graduated their students since the 8-month old strike by ASUU which commenced on Feb 14 2022. Universities of Maidugri, Bauchi and Sokoto medical teachers are indeed patriots.
“Moreover, their peculiar needs are quite different from the rest of ASUU members and they are often left out on welfare and career progression in the universities – the core functions of a registered trade union, ’’he said.
Ngige advised the NLC President to stop exploiting his position to lead the public astray by giving them false information about labor authorities.
He further stated that ASUU could seek judicial redress through the courts as law-abiding individuals, just like the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Labour & Employment, if they felt wronged.
“That is by virtue of the powers conferred by Section 17 of the TDA, transmitted the FG/ASUU trade dispute to the NICN for adjudication, due to refusal of the union to comply with the provisions of Section 18 of the TDA, conciliation having failed,’’ he said.
