The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige has told the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) that he has the power to register the Congress for Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the Nigeria Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) as unions in the university system.

He insisted the Trade Union Act 2004 gives him the sole power to register new trade unions, either by registering a new union or regrouping existing ones.

The Minister appealed to the NLC to rescind its opposition to the registration of the two trade unions in the university system.

The NLC had opposed the decision of the Federal Government to register CONUA and NAMDA as trade unions in the heat of the disagreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a letter to the Minister, urged the government to rescind the registration of the unions, citing a Supreme Court judgment.

Wabba, demanded the withdrawal of the letters issued to the unions, on the grounds that their registration contravened the laws guiding trade unionism.

However, in a reply, dated October 12, 2022, Ngige appealed to NLC to allow the new unions to exist in the spirit of Freedom of Association.

In a statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Olajide Oshundun, the minister reiterated that the new unions were offshoots or by-products of regrouping and their applications were considered by two committees of his ministry, with the Registrar of Trade Unions participating when the first recommendation for approval was given in 2019, and again in 2022.

He explained that CONUA and NAMDA were regrouped from ASUU, for efficiency and effectiveness in the system and more importantly, to protect these groups of university teachers whose worldview differs from the restive parent union.

Ngige said: “Comrade President, do not unnecessarily oppose the registration of these new academic unions because with ASUU, they are all like seeds on the academic soil of Nigeria and which will grow into big trees we don’t know, but the one which her trees are not bearing good fruits, we already know. So, as an uncle of the unions, oppose none in the spirit of Freedom of Association.

“It should be noted that Section 3 (2) of the Trade Unions Act, CAP T14 gives the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment, the sole power to register new trade unions, either by registering new trade union or regrouping existing ones. This matter was a subject of litigation in the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) in most recent case which the President of the NLC failed to mention in his narration of court cases – the case of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) and the regrouped Federal Parastatals & Private Sector Pensioners Association of Nigeria (FEPPAN) from NUP where the Law on Regrouping of Trade Unions was extensively explored and ruled upon unlike the cases cited by the President of the NLC to misinform the general public and unfortunately lead astray his affiliate Trade Union – ASUU,“ he added.

He recalled that the NICN in a Suit no. NICN/ABJ/219/2019, buttressed its earlier ruling on the matter and which had stated inter alia that the power to register trade unions resides with the Minister of Labour and Employment.

He noted that the last segment of Section 3(2) does not refer to the regrouping of existing trade unions, hence, the differentiation within the section between registering a new trade union and regrouping existing ones.

Ngige further submitted: “We note your reference to Section 5 of the same Act, which deals with the “Procedure on receipt of application for registration” of a Trade Union. Section 5(4) in Particular states that the Registrar shall not register a trade union if it appears to him that any existing trade union is sufficiently representative of the interests of the class of workers concerned – CONUA members were ostracised and de-unionised by ASUU. Do we as the Competent Authority on Labour matters including trade union services pay homage to ASUU and acquiesce to leaving a large segment of lecturers and academia un-unionised, without protection, without a voice, and without a right at work. Are these workers not covered by the same ILO Conventions nos. 87 & 97?”

Regarding NAMDA, he said they are medical doctors lecturing in the universities who are bound by their professional ethics and Hippocratic oath to “first do no harm” to all and as such, were against the incessant prolonged and illegal strikes by ASUU, which had disrupted medical training and caused consequential damages to the educational system and by implication, the quantity and quality of future medical doctors and dentists in Nigeria.

“They have been teaching and some have graduated their students since the 8-month old strike by ASUU which commenced on Feb 14 2022. Universities of Maidugri, Bauchi and Sokoto medical teachers are indeed patriots. Moreover, their peculiar needs are quite different from the rest of ASUU members and they are often left out on welfare and career progression in the universities-the core functions of a registered trade union,” he said.

Ngige told the NLC President to desist from using his position to deceive the general public by misleading them with mal-citations of Labour Authorities. (Nation)

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