ASUU Strike: Ngige’s newly recognized union threatens to sue the government over unpaid wages

Sammy December 7, 2022

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The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) expressed its displeasure with the Federal Government, particularly the Ministry of Labour and Employment, regarding the non-payment of its members’ withheld salaries and threatened to pursue legal action.

At the height of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike in October, Chris Ngige, minister of labor and employment, is said to have presented certificates of registration to CONUA and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Lecturers in Academics (NAMDA), with the intention of weakening ASUU’s position.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the president of CONUA, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, claimed that despite the government’s knowledge that its members were not participating in the eight-month strike, their paychecks were still being withheld.
He claimed that the Trade Disputes Act CAP. T8, which states that “where any employer locks out his workers, the workers shall be entitled to the payment of their withheld salaries,” was violated by not paying them their withheld wages.

Ngige implores NLC to permit coexistence of CONUA, NAMDA, and ASUU.

“This provision adheres to international best practices. We have decided to seek legal remedy for the illegal withholding of our legitimate pay by taking the matter to court in accordance with the rights guaranteed by our laws, in light of the aforementioned and as a law-abiding union that pledged to do things differently, he said.
In a letter to Ngige in April 2022, CONUA formally informed the Federal Government of its non-participation in the strike. This was followed by a press conference in Abuja on August 19, 2022, where it was categorically stated that CONUA was not a part of any strike that was currently in progress and that the “No Work, No Pay” principle should not apply to union members.

According to the statement, the union had written to the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Ministry of Labour and Employment reminding them that it was an error to lump their members with those that declared and embarked on strike action.

“It was yet another shock for the outstanding backlog of salaries not to have been paid to our members along with the November 2022 salary,” he said.

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