Striking University Lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has said that they would sue the Federal Government to the National Industrial Court (NIC) over the recent registration of the two factional unions in the tertiary education sector.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, announced the registration the Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) on Tuesday.
The move is seen as a desperate step by the Federal Government to break the ranks of the striking university lecturers who have refused to call of the strike they declared since February 14.
Ngige explained that the two bodies will exist alongside ASUU in the nation’s University system.
The minister explained further that the new university-based unions would enjoy all the privileges extended to other academic unions in the nation’s higher education sector.
But Counsel to the embattled union, Mr Femi Falana, (SAN), told Channels television that the lecturers’ body taking the Federal Government to Court over the registration of the two parallel unions.
“ASUU is going to court. It is going to be the NIC,” he was quoted to have said
He described the registration of CONUA and NAMDA as illegal and in violation of the Trade Unions Act which he insisted stipulated that only a union is allowed to operate in a sector.
“You can’t have two trade unions in the same sector. Only a union is allowed to be registered for all academics in Nigeria.
“That is the essence of the classification of trade unions because we used to have mushrooms in the First Republic so the government restructured the unions and grouped all academics together and all non-academics together. You can’t have two or three in one field,” Falana was quoted to have said
Falana said that his position is backed by a Supreme Court judgment on the proliferation of trade unions – the Erasmus Osawe V Registrar of Trade Unions.
Similarly, President of ASUU, Emnanuel Osodeke, confirmed the decision of the union to go to court over the registration of the two unions
“He (Falana) is our lawyer. So, that is correct,”
With reports from Channels Television