ASUU Factional Union, CONUA Meets With Disappointment With The FG
The Congress of University Academics (CONUA), has expressed its dissatisfaction with the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Labour and Employment, for failing to pay withheld salaries to its members.
Congress of University Academics: ”The government knew that the union did not call for strike action, and its members were not involved in the strike action that lasted for eight months and shut down the university system nationwide.”
The Congress of University Academics, in a statement signed on Tuesday by its National President, Secretary, and Publicity Secretary, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, Dr Henry Oripeloye, and Dr Ernest Nwoke, said it was incorrect for the FG to lump CONUA with members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, who went on strike for eight months between February and October 2022.
As a result, the new lecturers’ union planned to sue FG for withholding its members’ salaries.
According to the statement, “Congress of University Academics formally informed the Federal Government of its non-participation in the strike in a letter issued to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, in April 2022.”
“We made it clear in the letter that because CONUA was a separate and independent union within the university system, our members did not call for a strike.” This was followed by a press conference in Abuja on August 19, 2022, during which it was unequivocally stated that the Congress of University Academics was not a part of any ongoing strike and that the “No Work, No Pay” policy should not apply to union members.
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“Congress of University Academics anticipates that, as a result of the express and unequivocal announcement, the government would easily release our members’ overdue earnings when it resumes salary payment to all university staff in October 2022.” To our dismay, CONUA members were also paid pro-rata pay, despite the fact that the strike had effectively prevented us from doing our jobs.
“We then wrote to the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Labour and Employment, informing them that lumping our members in with those who declared and went on strike was a mistake.” It was yet another surprise that the outstanding backlog of salaries had not been given to our members in conjunction with the November 2022 salary.”
Congress of University Academics claimed that the failure to pay “our withheld salaries” violated Section 43 (1b) of the Trade Disputes Act CAP. T8, which stated that “where any employer locks out his workers, the workers shall be entitled to wages and any other applicable remunerations for the period of the lock-out, and the period of the lock-out shall not prejudice any rights of the workers, being rights dependent on the continuity of the period of employment.”
“This provision is consistent with worldwide best practises,” the statement continued.
“In light of the foregoing, and as a law-abiding union committed to doing things differently, we have resolved to seek legal remedy for the illegal withholding of our legitimate salary by taking the matter to court in accordance with the rights inherent in our collective bargaining agreement.”
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