The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given the Federal Government a four-week ultimatum to conclude all ongoing negotiations with unions in the nation’s tertiary institutions or face a nationwide industrial action.
The NLC also strongly condemned the government’s no-work, no-pay policy against members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), describing it as punitive and counterproductive.
NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, made this known during an interactive session with labour correspondents in Abuja following a meeting with leaders of tertiary institution-based unions at the Congress headquarters.
“We have decided to give the Federal Government four weeks to conclude all negotiations in this sector. Although talks have started with ASUU, the problems extend beyond the union. If after four weeks these negotiations are not concluded, the organs of the NLC’s National Executive Council will meet to decide on nationwide action. All workers and unions across the country will be involved so we can address the root causes of these crises”, Ajaero stated.
Ajaero faulted the government’s stance on the no-work, no-pay directive, warning that the NLC would henceforth adopt a reciprocal principle of no pay, no work.
“You cannot benefit from a crisis you instigated. We have discovered that over 90 percent of strike actions in this country result from the government’s failure to honour agreements,” he added.
Nigeria’s higher education system has suffered prolonged instability, with the current ASUU strike leading to the shutdown of universities nationwide.
ASUU National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, had declared the strike at a press briefing at the University of Abuja on Sunday, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the government on September 28.
The union cited unresolved issues relating to staff welfare, unpaid salary arrears, infrastructure decay, and non-implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
Although Education Minister Tunji Alausa recently announced that negotiations were nearing completion, with ₦50 billion released for earned academic allowances and ₦150 billion allocated in the 2025 budget for needs assessment, ASUU dismissed these efforts as inadequate.
The union’s demands include full implementation of the 2009 agreement, release of three-and-a-half months of withheld salaries, sustainable university funding, non-victimisation of members, payment of promotion arrears, and release of withheld deductions for cooperatives and union contributions.
Reaffirming its solidarity with ASUU and other tertiary institution unions, the NLC called on the government to honour all agreements and respect workers’ rights.
The emergency meeting, according to Ajaero, will outline the next course of action for the labour movement and develop strategies to protect the welfare of university staff while ensuring stability and quality in Nigeria’s public tertiary education system.
