ASUU strike: FG should pay lectures salary arrears – NLC, TUC

The President of the Trade Union Congress, Mr. Boboi Kaigama and the Acting General Secretary of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Mr. Chris Uyot, yesterday called on the Federal Government to agree to the demands of protesting lecturers by paying their salary arrears from July to October, 2013.

The duo, in separate interviews with PUNCH said that the way forward was to attend to the lecturers’ demands.

According to Kaigama, the lecturers deserve to be paid their salaries, as going on strike does not mean that they were no longer entitled to their salaries.

His argument is that the Union went on strike because of the Federal Government’s inability to implement the 2009 agreement reached with the Universities lecturers.

He said, “It is okay, they are supposed to be paid their salaries; when one is on strike, it does not mean that he cannot be paid his or her salary.

“They went on strike because of an agreement that was negotiated which the government has not been able to fulfil. The government should pay them their salaries. The situation would have been different if they were the ones that reneged on the agreement.”

He said that the TUC and the NLC would back the Union to ensure the implementation of the last agreement as it was witnessed by him and the NLC President, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar.

“The NLC President Omar, and I are living witnesses to the final agreement that was reached between them and the government; we will support them based on what we witnessed, based on what they agreed with the government and the new implementation strategy.

“The TUC and the NLC will back them to ensure that the implementation strategy is followed. An aspect will be implemented this year and the first quarter of next year,” he added

Also speaking, the Acting General Secretary of NLC, Uyot said it was unlikely that the Federal Government would allow such a “minor issue” to derail its discussions with the Union, considering the fact that both parties wanted the issue of the lingering strike to be resolved.

“Well, given the spirit of the discussions between ASUU and government officials led by President Goodluck Jonathan, the issue of non-payment of salaries, we do not think, it’s something the government might consider because the spirit was such that both parties, particularly the government wanted resolved.

“So, we don’t think that a minute issue would derail the offer that the government has made.

“In any case, both parties were involved in the strike. The Union signed an agreement with the government which the government did not implement, so government cannot say that it was not part of the problem,” he said.