FG Didn’t Take ASUU to Court — Ngige

…Says Case Cannot Stop Out of Court Settlement

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has said the Federal Government did not take the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to court over its prolonged strike, as claimed in some quarters.

Ngige, who spoke at the public presentation of the NLC at 40 publication titled: “Contemporary History of Working Class Struggles” on Monday in Abuja, said he would have failed in his duties if he didn’t refer the matter to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) after seven months of protracted discussions and negotiations with the union, which failed.

The minister, who recalled that ASUU was at the stage of CBA negotiation with their employers, the Federal Ministry of Education when they embarked on strike, however, regretted that the ASUU leadership does not even understand the import of CBA negotiation because they lacked the nutrients of labour unionism.

He said: “We have to counsel our brothers on negotiation. No negotiation is forced. You cannot say it is either you give me 200 percent or I will continue my strike. There are laws guiding strikes. There are ILO principles on the right to strike. Nobody can take it away.

“But, there are things that follow it when you embark on strike as a worker, and they are enshrined in the laws of our land. It is written in the Trade Dispute Act. The ILO principles of strike talks about the right of a worker to withdraw services. There is also a right to picket. These are things that are done.

“Nigeria is respected in ILO. Some people said the Federal Government took ASUU to court. No. I referred the matter after seven months of protracted discussions and negotiations that failed.”

Ngige recalled that he conciliated the dispute twice, first on February 22, one week after the commencement of the strike and some agreements were reached, and he brought everybody back on March 1 for another conciliation.

According to him, the only thing left was going back to the Federal Ministry of Education for the renegotiation of the 2013 agreement.