The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to accommodate its demands to enable pupils to go back to school.
The Chairman of Cross River State TUC, Monday Ogbodum, has made this plea on Tuesday, 21 June in an interview in Calabar.
The head of ASUU said that ASUU had reiterated its points ‘clearly’ with the ongoing strike and has motivated the government to avoid enabling issues to become worse to the point of strike.
Ogbodum further added that the government must make deals with the labour unions easier to prevent prolonged industrial actions in the nation.
He maintained that it would be difficult for tertiary education in Nigeria to reclaim its position because of the industrial actions by the university lecturers in the last two years.
He further stated, “While I am appealing to the ASUU to shift ground, I also ask the government always to put a human face in their actions.”
According to him, ASUU has consistently proven his points in front of the federal government; the strike by them is justifiable, but ASUU must also acknowledge that negotiations always create a win-win situation, and not all winners are able to take it.
He added that the country’s children have already suffered enough, and most families do not have enough resources and funds to send their children abroad or to private institutions.
“I boldly tell you that even the lecturers have their pains from this strike,” he stated.
On the other hand, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has urged that its members would not continue work despite the Federal Government’s payment of minimum wage arrears.
The administration of the union also praised the members for keeping trust with the union despite the hardship foisted on their families due to the No-Work-No-Pay directive of the Federal Government.
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