* Urges govt to pay withheld salaries to varsity staff
Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to take appropriate measures to avoid another industrial unrest in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
While reacting to the declaration of a one week warming strike by its two affiliate unions — the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational (NASU) and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the NLC said there was reason for the government not to allow issues to degenerate to industrial dispute.
In statement signed by the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, the labour centre urged the Federal Government to immediately pay the outstanding four months withheld salaries to the non-teaching staff of the universities to avoid disruption of studies.
“We join our affiliate unions, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational (NASU) and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), in demanding for the immediate payment of the withheld salaries of their members.
“There has been no credible reason or explanation for withholding those salaries in the first place. We recall this singular act plunged the members into indescribable hardship.
“Much worse, it defies logic to try to subject members of these unions to discriminatory treatment. By so doing, government is clearly courting avoidable industrial dispute,” it said.
NLC said at a time confidence is being restored to the public universities, the least government could do is not engineer another strike.
It said that the toll on all the parties will be unacceptably high, especially for students and parents who bear the burden of movement on our dangerous roads.
“In light of this, we urge government to expeditiously pay up the outstanding. We advise government to not take for granted the maturity of these unions,” it said.
