ASUU strike: Negotiating with ‘ghost’?

IT is not an over-statement that there seems to be no end in sight over the deep crisis between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) and other University-based unions in Nigeria. Labour rights have become one of the most threatened rights in the world. CHINDAPBA NGOP writes.

OVER the years, successive governments in Nigeria have always bowed to the conservative notions that improving the living standard of the working class citizens can be an obstacle to fostering of economic growth and employment as prescribed by the engine of neo-liberalism thereby neglecting to improve and maintain the policy levers that will emeliorate working conditions of workers in the country.

As just and reasonable the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are, in the struggles for a pay rise and repositioning of public universities by embarking on the six months old strike which is in conformity with the fundamental principles of the right of trade unions to collective bargaining as guaranteed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), Federal Government seems to be shifting blames of the prolong strike on ASUU for being adamant to return to  their classrooms.

While the endless and unprofitable negotiations and meetings continue. The prolong strike has not only posed profound threat to the nation, but has also undoubtedly made government to lose more than the cost of granting their demands without these unnecessary strikes in the final analysis.

The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, have continued to trade blames over the endless impasse. While ASUU has maintained its position that the strike action is inevitable and necessary to save the public university system from total collapse, to persuade government to subscribe and accept the homegrown Universities Transparency Accountability Solution, (UTAS) government on its part has insisted that Unions should drop their key demand of using their generated payment platform of the UTAS which government insist that it has failed. The integrity test, instead, ASUU should allow government to use the widely used Integrated Personnel and Payment Information System (IPPIS).

The unfolding events on perhaps one of the prolonged strick ever between the Nigerian tertiary institutions is catastrophically putting ASUU on the defence as Federal Government have continue to come under heavy condemnation by the public court of opions over its poor handling of the protracted industrial dispute that has grounded almost all the activities in the public universities. The federal government in its bit to safe itself from public shame came out to declared total rejection of Professor Nimi Briggs led-committee report, saying there have never been any collective bargaining (CBA) between unions and Federal Government claiming what they (government) have on table are mere proposals.

This was contained in a statement signed on July 13, 2022 by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Relations, Olajide Oshundun of the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, in a swift reaction, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana came out to condemn the purported rejection of the report by Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige, adding that the information accessible to him shows that he was not authorized to reject the report ande ‘subject to a campaign of calmany.”

To further fan the flame of the crisis, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Finance had accused ASUU for collaborating with Brigg’s committee to have fixed an unworkable wages for the Nigeria universities lecturers without recourse to the relevant advisory Ministries, Departments and Agencies that are key in the negotiations. According to the ministry of Finance, MDs such as Ministry of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment, Budget Office, Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, National Office of Salaries and Wages Commission were deliberately excluded from the negotiations and sittings of the committee.

From the forgoing, one can sadly deduce that ASUU have all along been negotiating with ‘Ghost’s and unknown men, it therefore goes to suggest that there have never been any instrument of action, (agreements) between the unions side and government for lack of mandate from government side right from Professor Munzali led-committee which was set up in January 2021 after ASUU suspended their strike action over the renegotiation of 2009 unfinished agreement in December 2020. The suspended which however was reactivated on February 14, 2022 after government reneged to implement the Munzali reports which means government on their part has never any appreciable sincerity in the long renegotiations of the contention 2009 agreement that always ended up with proposals, and reports and not with any concrete agreement.

But one wonders where the same government side always get express mandate when it comes to sanctioning of workers interest and would have little or no mandate to make concessions with unions. It would be recalled that government in May 2022, in its quest to break the ongoing strike invoked section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act of ‘No Work No Pay Rule” for the striking workers. Earlier in the wake of the strike, government had frozen the accounts of the striking workers and in response to government action, ASUU had issued out statement to that effect, it reads in part “Governments’ resort to the use of starvation as a weapon for breaking of the collective resolve of ASUU members and undermine our patriotic struggle to reposition public universities in Nigeria is ill-advised and may prove counter-productive.”

The ASUU President, Prof. Osodoke vowed not to be intimidated by government’s decision to deny workers of their legitimated earnings. On the whole, ASUU on their part has not been able to build strong negotiation skills to have studied and understand how the other side (government) operates. Again ASUU was unable to manage some of the key elements in negotiations such as information, time and power to their advantage.

First, ASUU should have known before now and right from the Prof. Munzali led-committee engagement, government side has never come to negotiating table with a clear or defined mandate from their principal. Regrettably, the ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has expressed shock over the groundless and delaying tactic in government complying with every resolutions they reached, particularly the recent agreement that was reached on the 16th of June 2022. ASUU President revealed that at the start of the negotiations, the union asked Nimi Briggs led-committee if they sincerely have the mandate of their principal to negotiate with them and they said yes. “We asked them does it mean that whatever we agree with will be accepted by government?

They said ‘yes.’ We started negotiations and finished on 16th of June 2021. They (committee) said they were going back to show their principal and get permission to sign. We have been waiting till now” The president said. It sounds absurd on the part of the unions to have allowed the other party of the negotiating team to go back to their principal again to obtain concent before signing what was agreed upon at the quite tragically, ASUU with their sophiscated intellectual capacity seems not to have deeper knowledge of those they were negotiating with, after all, the government side had answered affirmatively at the beginning of the negotiations that they have been given the power of attorney or latitude to agree on any point they all reached. It is often said “the secret of walking on water knows where the stones are.” ASUU should have persuaded and held the Briggs committee by ‘neck’ to sign what were agreed upon before leaving the venue with their experiences of the 2021 renegotiations of the much talked about 2009′ agreement which remains the prime cause o the prolonged conflict knowing that other previous negotiations had ended with mere reports and proposals while the government side continue changing negotiations to another.

Second, time management is one o the cardinal ingredients in negotiations which ASUU did not effectively managed, hence, ASUU could not prevailed on federal government to implement Prof. Munzali Jibril’s led-committee reports after a months of submission. In fact, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria,Femi Falana also faulted the process of collective bargaining between ASUU and Prof. Munzali renegotiating team. He said, “instead of incoming out the grey areas in the agreement, the federal government turned round to set up another committee under the leadership of Prof. Nimi Brigg in March 2022.” The constant changes in the collective bargain process that have lasted for almost 12 years only amount to waste of time and resources.

Thirdly, ASUU should have known better by now that we are in a democratic settings whereby our political office holders who weld more power do not believe or have no confidence in the educational system they imposed on us and that explains why most government officials, and political office holders over time, starting from the presidents, Vice presidents, ministers, governors, permanent secretaries and even commissioners all have their children school overseas and private universities with our  common wealth. This year alone, the Rivers State Governor’s son, and Ex-Imo State Governor Emeka Ihedioha’a son all graduated from UK Universities amid the protracted strike. While the strike drags on, ASUU lamented that “Those in power turned their back on our degraded universities as they shuttle between Europe and America to celebrate the graduation of their children and wards from World class universities. This speaks volumes on the level of depravity, insensitivity, and irresponsibility of Nigeria’s opportunistic and parasitic political class.”

Community of Vice chancellors and other spirited individuals have continued to appeal to the presidents to take charge of the negotiation and hasten the process as the strike has not only disrupted academic calendar, encourage brain drain and could pose a grave generational aftermath.

Contentedly, President Buhari has given parents and students a new ray of hope as he has graciously answered the pleas of Nigerians by directing the minister of education, Mallam Adamu to resolve the prolonged strike and report back within two weeks. It is hope that the minister and his will be given the full mandate to have a meaningful engagement with the unions’ side.

With these new developments it is expected that the Nigeria Labour Congress (WLC), would shelve its belated solidarity protest with the academic staff union of universities. NLC had announced to their members that it would embark on two day nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 July 2022 to impress on government to go back to the negotiating table and immediately conclude the ongoing negotiation with trade unions in Nigeria’s universities for them to resume normal and full activities. Nigerians expect the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU and federal government will come back to the negotiating table with full mandate and better skills to transform completion into cooperation and open into partners.