Asuu Strike:Our Struggle Will Improve Education Sector –ASUU President

President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr. Nasir Fagge, said on Tuesday that the current strike by lecturers of public universities in the country was a sacrifice for better things to come. Fagge told the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos
that there would be no development unless the
deficits in the education sector, especially the
university system, were addressed once and for
all. University teachers, under the aegis of ASUU,
have since June 30 embarked on what they
described as comprehensive, total and indefinite
strike in public universities across the country. The lecturers are asking for the implementation
of some aspects of an agreement they jointly
entered into with the Federal Government in
2009. According to Fagge, it is regrettable that the
strike is protracted, and that the decision of ASUU
to remain adamant until its demands are fully met
can seem uncomfortable and worrisome. He said that the industrial action was a sacrifice
needed to salvage the entire economy of the
country. He said, “I sincerely want to call on all concerned,
especially students and parents, to bear with us,
as well as join hands with us in the struggle to
right the wrongs in our education sector once
and for all, for the good of us all and that of the
country. “I know it is quite a difficult time for us but I also
want to state that what we are doing is for our
own good, as well as to ensure that strikes
become rare, as a weapon to get things done in
our system. “We also want to ensure that there is sincerity
and respect for mutual agreements by parties in
order to attain a common goal for the good of
our dear country” Meanwhile, a group, the Registered Trustees of
Golden Women of Integrity and Vision
Association, has dragged ASUU before the
National Industrial Court over the ongoing strike
action. Others listed as defendants in the suit number
NICN/Abj/242/2013 are the ministers of Labour
and Productivity, Education, Finance and Justice,
as well as the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation. In the suit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to
determine whether the strike action embarked
upon by ASUU was not illegal, and whether
members of the union are not bound by the
policy of ‘no-work no-pay’ and therefore not
entitled to their salary during the period of the strike. They also want the court to determine whether
members of the union are entitled to continue to
retain their employment, having abandoned their
work in the universities, and whether or not the
union complied with the mandatory provisions
of sections 4 and 5 of the Trade Dispute Act CAP T8 LFN 2004 before embarking on the strike. Also, the court was asked to determine whether
or not the Minister of Education is not entitled to
determine the employment of the members of the
union since they have abandoned their work in
the universities. In addition, the plaintiffs want the court to
declare that the strike action embarked upon by
ASUU since July 2, 2013, is illegal,
unconstitutional, and null and void; they also
want the court to declare that the strike action is
unlawful and unwarranted in the face of the payment of over N50bn to the union by Federal
Government.