Only court can decide varsity lecturers withheld eight-month salaries – Minister

The Federal Government says it is awaiting the ruling of the National Industrial Court (NIC) on what to do with the withheld eight-month salaries of university lecturers.

Minister of Labour and Employment,  Senator Chris Ngige, stated this in Abuja on Sunday.

The executive council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities will be meeting this week to take a decision on the payment of half salary to the lecturers for October by the government.

Activist lawyer and counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana (SAN), has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the payment of the eight-month salaries to the lecturers who were on strike between February and October.

For now  Ngige maintained that “the matter is in court. We are waiting for the court to call us back. It is part of the substantive issues remitted to the court for pronouncement; whether they can be paid that (eight months withheld salary arrears) or not.

“The court has not called us. It is when the court calls us and we appear that the issue of out of court settlement or alternative dispute resolution will arise.’

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According to the minister, he has not met with the leadership of ASUU since the matter was referred to the NIC.

“Only the court can direct resumption of negotiation with the leadership of ASUU,” Ngige said.

He also said that ASUU members dragged his ministry to court over the registration of the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).

The minister said ASUU leadership dragged him and the Registrar of Trade Unions before the NIC over moves to withdraw the registration certificate issued to the union for failing to submit its audited accounts since 2013.

He added that these two issues were before the NIC for adjudication.

The minister said, “I have not met with the leadership of the union. It is the court that will direct me to go back and resume negotiation with the union. That is why I told the Speaker of the House of Representatives that I cannot come there to do any negotiation at the National Assembly.

“It will be a neglect of the court ruling. Our people have filed all the issues and we are waiting. Two matters are in court: the registration of CONUA and NAMDA. They took me to court. We have also filed our defence and counterclaim.

“The other matter before the court is the non-rendition of ASUU’s audited account since 2013 to date. The Registrar of Trade Unions wrote them in 2020 and they didn’t render any account that 2020.

“I wrote to them (ASUU) in 2022 and asked them to show cause why a proof of Section 15 of Trade Union Act should not merit them the withdrawal of their certificate or cancellation of their certificate of registration as a trade union.

“ASUU ran to court and asked the court to restraint the Registrar of Trade Unions and Minister of Labour and Employment from ever doing that (withdrawing their certificate of registration).”

After suspending its eight-month old strike on October 14, the government last week Thursday reportedly paid the university lecturers half salary for the month of October, a development that triggered fresh anxieties over ASUU’s suspended strike.