The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has called on Federal Government to institutionalise industrial relations in education and allied institution sector.
NASU President Comrade Makolon Hassan who made this known at the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting said such move would address incessant strike at the nation’s education sector.
“Disagreements between employers and employees in the work place are what become grievances and then snowball into trade disputes. Workers in the private sector as well as the core Federal Civil Service, also make demands to their employers and their demands do not always lead to strikes.
“In the core Federal Civil Service, industrial relations are handled through the Public Service Negotiating Councils: Councils I, II and III representing the different sectors of the Federal Public Service. Demands of civil servants are negotiated at these Councils and taken to the National Council on Establishment for ratification.
“Unfortunately, industrial relations in the education and allied institutions sector, which includes Universities and Inter-University Centres, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Research Institutes have not been institutionalised as is the case in the core civil service.
“Unions make their demands to the employer, in this case the Federal Government, and there will be no response for months or even years. It will take warning strikes for the Government to invite the Unions for meetings and other rounds of strikes for the constitution of Government Team that will negotiate with the Union.
“Unlike the erroneous belief in the public, to take a decision to call a strike does not come easy for our Union, because it is done at great cost to our members and the Union,” the union daid
On the recently suspended strike, they said: “Over two months after the Agreement signed by the Federal Government with the JointAction Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU, which resulted in the suspension of the four months old strike, we have observed that the processes expected to be put in place for the actuaiisation of the content of the Agreement are yet to be put in place.
“We therefore use the opportunity of the ongoing NEC meeting to call on the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu to ensure that the processes for the implementation of the Agreement commence immediately before the members of NASU will start another round of agitation.”
