The federal government has appealed to the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) to rescind its opposition to the registration of the two new
academic unions in the Nigerian public university system.
Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, made the
call in a statement by Olajide Oshundun, the ministry’s head of press and
public relations, on Tuesday.
The new unions are the Congress for Nigerian University
Academics (CONUA) and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics
(NAMDA).
Ayuba Wabba, national president of NLC, had demanded the
withdrawal of the letters of recognition issued to the unions on the grounds
that their registration contravened the laws guiding trade unions.
In his reply, Ngige appealed to NLC to allow the new unions
to exist in the spirit of freedom of association.
The minister insisted that the trade dispute act 2004 gives
him the sole power to register new trade unions, either by registering a new
union or regrouping existing ones.
He reiterated that the new unions were offshoots or
by-products of regrouping, and their applications were considered by two
committees of his ministry.
Ngige noted that the registrar of trade unions was involved
when the first recommendation for approval was given in 2019, and again in
2022.
The minister added that the unions were recognised to
protect “these groups of university teachers whose worldview differs from the
restive parent union”.
“Comrade president, do not unnecessarily oppose the
registration of these new academic unions,” the letter reads.
“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.”
Ngige noted that the matter was a subject of litigation in
the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) and that Wabba failed to
mention that in his narration of court cases.
Ngige recalled that the NICN in suit no. NICN/ABJ/219/2019
buttressed its earlier ruling on the matter and which had stated, inter alia,
that the power to register trade unions resides with the minister of labour and
employment.
He noted that the last segment of section 3(2) does not
refer to the regrouping of existing trade unions, hence, the differentiation
within the section between registering a new trade union and regrouping
existing ones.
“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,” the letter reads.
“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?”
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