The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has stated that the Federal and State Governments were responsible for the ongoing ASUU strike, as well as threats of other strikes by different unions in the country.
While blaming the government for failing to abide by agreements reached with different unions in the country, it hailed the sustained action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Chris Uyot, in an interview with THISDAY, said ASUU deserved more attention than it is currently receiving, as it has to do with the improvement of facilities and standard of education in the country.
“ASUU is our affiliate and for every step they have taken, we have been with them; we have been briefed. The NLC is as invested in this case as ASUU itself. The vice-president has been appointed to take over the negotiations and the ball is now in the court of the government as it were. We do not think that the government has given it the type of attention it deserves,” he said.
He said government’s refusal to honour agreements, negates its much publicized concept of the rule of law and order.
“The essence of negotiations for collective bargaining to bring about an agreement is to ensure that there is peace and harmony in the workplace, to bring about better understanding between employers and employees. So if we decide to manipulate agreements that have come through mutual negotiations, we are distorting the very concept of industrial relations which is the foundation of peace and harmony and stability in the workplace. It means we are trying to distort our own laws that guide these things,” he added.
“The world this day is guided by social dialogue and one of the tenets of social dialogue is mutual respect for agreements that have been entered by the partners. When you want to extricate the outcome of something that came through social dialogue, then you are invariably calling for chaos. Both federal and state governments seem to be more interested in violations of agreements and this is the major cause of industrial crises.”
Uyot expressed the readiness of the labour movement to honour agreements entered though collective bargaining and urged the government to do same.
“On our part as labour, we are ready at anytime to respect agreements that are mutually reached, but government is making it a tradition to disrespect the same agreement; you cannot run a workplace or a country like that.
“Government needs to rethink on the issue of collective agreements seriously. We feel sad that the country has been made to experience these problems because our leaders are running a system that respects the same laws which they have set,” Uyot added
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