ASUU Strike Is Illegal- Says Labour Minister

The Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, described the two-week warning strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU as illegal.

The labour minister stated this on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council FEC meeting, stating that the academic staffs cannot dictate to their employer.

Ngige said “They didn’t give us the mandatory notice before going on strike. So, for a start, this strike is illegal. They said it is a warning striking but there is nothing like warning strike. A strike is withdrawal of services for which you are being paid.

“Then the question will arise; if you don’t go to work, do you want to be paid? Is it not corruption? So this is the dilemma.”

The labour minister further said the bone of contention was the IPPIS which the federal government introduced in 2018 to curb corruption as well as fish out ghost workers in the system.

He added that the government had agreed to merge both IPPIS and University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), the platform suggested by ASUU, but the union did not show interest in it.

“This is an old story. This story started two years ago when the first presidential directive was given, for all public servants to be captured on the IPPIS so that the federal government will know those that they are paying and to block leakages.

“So if you go on sabbatical, this is government’s position. What you should receive in that other place is an allowance. And allowance has a different portal; that is the portal that doctors are using. So, these allowances are captured but IPPIS will not capture two salaries for one person.

“I was shocked on Monday, when I read and saw some people coming out of the university that lecturers have gone on strike. I have my children in Nigerian universities and I saw them.

“So, to solve the dilemma, I have invited them to the meeting for tomorrow (Thursday). I have invited the minister of education, their principal employer, the finance ministry and the accountant general of the federation.

“So we will meet and discuss the way forward because no employee is empowered to dictate his employer on how he or she should be paid. There is an ILO convention on it.” The labour minister said.

The minister therefore said if the lecturers do not return to their duty post, the government would invoke the “no work, no pay” policy.

The academic staff union had on Monday embarked on the warning strike to compel the federal government to implement its series of agreements signed with the union in 2013, 2017 and 2019.