COEs shut as COEASU joins NLC strike

Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, (COEASU) has embarked on an indefinite warning strike, following calls by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) for industrial action over the failure of the federal government to implement new minimum wage.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, COEASU national president, Comrade Nuhu Ogirima, decried government’s insensitivity to Nigerian workers’ welfare and the pathetic plight of colleges of education.
Ogirima said COEASU joined the strike because it had become evident that dialogue and diplomacy are alien to government’s lexicon of labour engagement as neither the federal nor state governments was ready to meaningfully solve the myriad of challenges besetting the COEs.
“While the union strives to stimulate her members towards re-dedicating themselves to the selfless service of humanity, notwithstanding the conditions of the work-place and lingering enervating work-related challenges, it has become evident that dialogue and diplomacy are alien to government’s lexicon of labour engagement, if any, for neither the federal nor state government is ready to meaningfully solve the myriad of challenges besetting the COEs,” he said He noted that while the organised labour had cause to support the anti-corruption fight of the present administration, government has refused to reciprocate the patriotic understanding by choosing to renege on the muchtouted minimum wage review.
He said as an affiliate of NLC, COEASU had no choice but listen to the call for strike by the leadership of the labour union, adding that it is expedient to also invoke their rights “to take further action against the crass insensitivity of government, at both state and federal levels, to the plight of the colleges of education.” “The Union is quite perturbed because of the grave implication of the foregoing evident neglect on the real training and development practices relating to basic education advancements in the country, since the colleges of education system provide the manpower needs for the foundation level of education, suffices to state that a good foundation is the basis of a sound edifice,”.
He therefore, called on government to manifest sufficient trust by upholding the issues on which agreement was reached and commence renegotiation of the FGN-COEASU 2010 collective bargaining agreement with the union.
Ogrima further demanded the release of funds for the payment of arrears of Peculiar Academic Allowances owed academic staff since the inception of the current administration, as well as the release of funds for the implementation of the reviewed report of 2014 Needs Assessment of public colleges of education.
The union leader also demanded the federal government to make clear government’s position on the reports on autonomy for COEs to award degree in the field of education, warning that “refusal of the respective governments and various authorities to expeditiously address the issues would be sure recipe for the union to invoke measures that would impede the smooth running of the entire colleges of education system.