Labour Congress Hands Government Four-Week Deadline to Settle University Staff Dispute

Nigeria’s main workers’ organisation has handed the authorities a tight four-week window to wrap up talks with university and college unions, including those for teaching staff, amid a nationwide halt in classes that has shut down higher learning spots across the country.

The ultimatum came after a snap gathering in Abuja between leaders of the labour group and spokespeople for unions in post-secondary education, which tackled the endless turmoil plaguing the nation’s university system. The move highlights deep anger over broken promises and calls for a shift away from punishing workers for actions sparked by official delays.

The teaching union for universities kicked off the work stoppage on Sunday, just as a short notice to halt expired without any real headway in bargaining. The union’s top figure laid out the details in a media chat at a campus in the capital, pointing to a string of unmet needs from a key deal struck back in 2009.

Talks in recent days fell flat, with the group turning down fresh offers as too little to fix the mess. The education chief had shared upbeat words two weeks back, noting that chats were almost done and that officials had freed up cash for back pay on teaching extras and set aside funds in next year’s spending blueprint for a full check on school needs, to roll out in bits.

Yet the union stood firm, pushing for full rollout of that old pact, freeing up held wages for several months, steady cash for running schools, shields against harsh treatment, clearing overdue raises and pay gaps, and handing back stopped cuts for group funds and union shares.

The workers’ umbrella body threw its full weight behind the teaching group and others in similar binds, urging all involved to join in fully. The forum laid out plans for next moves on the action and ways to guard staff well-being and keep schooling on track in public higher spots.

In a sharp session with news reporters in the capital, the labour group’s head made it clear the clock is ticking. “We have settled on giving the central authorities four weeks to finish all chats in this field,” he said. “They have kicked off with the teaching union but the woes here run deeper than that. That is why we are stretching it to four weeks. If after four weeks this bargaining does not close, the bodies of our main council will meet and call a country-wide push that pulls in every worker and every union so we strike at the heart of all this.”

He slammed the habit of inking deals, chatting, and then leaning on the groups called in, saying that time has passed. “The days of signing pacts, bargaining and then warning the unions called in, those days are over,” he added. “The so-called rule of no work, no pay, will from now on be no pay, no work. You cannot gain from a move you set off. We have seen that most, nine in ten, work stoppages in this land come from failing to keep to pacts.”

The four-week count begins from the call, paving the way for a possible full-scale nationwide walkout drawing in all trades and groups if no deal lands. The body called on officials to stick to group pacts and honour workers’ rights, flipping the no-work-no-pay line to no pay, no work to hit at the true roots of stoppages in schooling.