Queue at the filing station The President, Petroleum Products Retailers Owners of Nigeria( PETROAN), Dr Billy Gills Harry, says the reduction of the product, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) is good for the nation'struggling economy, as it would help in soften the difficult situations posed by the sharp rise in the price of petroleum products. While reacting to the issue through a statement issued and signed to the NEWSMIRROR yesterday, Harry said that the slight reversal of the price by NNPCL shows that the government is committed to the alleviation of the problems of the masses. According to him, the reduction in the price per litre of Petrol Motoring Spirit( PMS) from N1,020 per litre to N899 per litre is good, adding that the country will soon get over its problem, if the readjustment of the economy continues. Also, PETROAN's Public Relation Officer, Dr Joseph Obele said that Dangote Petroleum Refinery had earlier started the r...
In a twist of turn, the Federal Government is seeking legal means to end the over seven months strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU) to resume its seven months old strike.
The government has taken the matter to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria ( NICN) in order to compel lecturers to resume duty, following the failure of the dialogue between it and ASUU.
The government through the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, Nigerian University Commission ( NUC), Professor Shehu Galandachi,ASUU's President, Prof Emmanuel Osodekeand other stakeholders, have held meetings to end the prolonged strike action, to no avail.
A statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Mr Sunday Olagunju, confirmed the legal action against the lecturers.
The statement, which was issued in Abuja, on Sunday, noted that the referral instrument was addressed to the Registrar of NICN and was dated September 8, 2022 and signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.
In the matter billed for mention by 9.am on Monday, September 12, 2022, the Federal Government is seeking the NICN to inquire into the legality or otherwise of the ongoing prolonged strike by ASUU leadership and members that had continued even after apprehension by the Minister of Labour and Employment.
It prayed the court to interpret in its entirety the provisions of Section 18 LFN 2004, especially as it applies to the cessation of strike once a trade dispute is apprehended by the Minister of Labour and Employment and conciliation is ongoing.
Other prayers are as follows: “Interpret the provisions of Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act, Cap T8. LFN 2004, titled “Special Provision with Respect to payment of wages during strikes and Lock-outs,” specifically dealing with the rights of employees/workers during the period of any strike or lock-out. Can ASUU or any other union that embarked on strike be asking to be paid salaries even with clear provisions of the law.
“Determine whether ASUU members are entitled to emoluments or “strike pay” during their period of strike, which commenced on February 14, 2022, moreso in view of our national law as provided in Section 43 of the TDA and the International Labour Principles on the right to strike as well as the decisions of the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association on the subject.”
“Determine whether ASUU has the right to embark on strike over disputes as is the case in this instance by compelling the Federal Government to employ its own University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) in the payment of the wages of its members as against the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) universally used by the Federal Government in the nation for payment of wages of all her employees in the Federal Government Public Service of which university workers including ASUU members are part of or even where the government via NITDA subjected ASUU and their counterpart, Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll Systems (UPPPS) software to integrity test (vulnerability and stress test) and they failed.”
The Federal Government further prayed the court to determine the extent of fulfillment of ASUU’s demands since the 2020 Memorandum of Action (MOA) that the union signed with government. The demands include the funding for revitalisation of public universities as per 2009 agreement, Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) payments, state universities proliferation and constitution of visitation panels and release of white paper on the report of the visitation panels.
Others are the reconstitution of the government renegotiation team for renegotiation of 2009 agreement, which was renegotiated 2013/2014, due for renegotiation 2018/2019 and the migration of ASUU members from IPPIS to its own UTAS, which is currently on test at NITDA.
The Federal Government requested for an order of the Court for ASUU members to resume work in their various universities while the issues in dispute are being addressed by the NICN in consonance with the provisions of Section 18 (I) (b) of the TDA Cap T8. LFN 2004.
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