Strike: ASUU Branches set to Vote Today, Wednesday
Branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities will commence traditional voting today (Tuesday) and tomorrow (Wednesday) over the union’s ongoing strike, The PUNCH gathered.
The various branches’ decisions will be transmitted to the National Executive Council for a final decision.
A high-placed source within the NEC disclosed this in a chat with our correspondent in Abuja on Tuesday.
“We got the directive after the meeting with the speaker yesterday(Monday). The intervention was timely. Branches will vote between today and tomorrow, after which the decisions will be convened to the NEC,” the source said. The PUNCH reports that the new development comes on the heels of the meeting with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who called several meetings between the union and the side of the Federal Government.
The lead counsel to ASUU, Femi Gbajabiamila, SAN, had also explained to The PUNCH that the strike would be over in a few days.
ASUU had on Monday, February 14, 2022, embarked on a strike over what the union described as the failure of the government to meet lingering demands of the union.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, after what he described as “failed negotiations,” dragged the striking lecturers to the National Industrial Court.
The National Industrial Court had on 21 September ordered ASUU to call off the strike.
The court granted the motion on notice filed by the federal government, directing the lecturers to return to classrooms.
Ruling on the interlocutory injunction, the trial judge, Polycarp Hamman, restrained ASUU from continuing with the industrial action pending the determination of the suit filed against ASUU by the federal government.
Displeased by the ruling, the union headed to the Court of Appeal to appeal the ruling.
It also filed a stay of execution of the ruling of the industrial court.
The Court of Appeal ordered the striking lecturers to “immediately” call off the eight-month strike, having struck out ASUU’s application for a stay of execution of the lower court’s order.
It said it was within ASUU’s right to appeal the decision of the industrial court.
Agreeing with the federal government’s argument that ASUU cannot approach the appellate court with “dirty hands”, the panel held, “should the applicant fail to obey the order (of the lower court), the leave granted shall be automatically vacated.”
Related Article: Strike: FG must pay us our four month salary arrears, SSANU insists
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were ASUU branches asked to vote on the strike?
ASUU branches were directed to vote on the ongoing university strike following renewed discussions between the union and the Federal Government. The votes were intended to help determine the next step on the industrial action.
When were ASUU branches expected to vote?
The branches were expected to conduct their voting on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the outcomes to be forwarded to the union’s National Executive Council (NEC).
Will the branch votes automatically end the ASUU strike?
No. The votes from individual branches would be collated and presented to the ASUU NEC, which would make the final decision on whether to suspend or continue the strike.
What led to the renewed discussions between ASUU and the government?
The development followed meetings involving ASUU and the leadership of the House of Representatives, particularly Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, as efforts continued to resolve the issues behind the prolonged strike.
Does the branch voting mean students will immediately return to school?
Not necessarily. Students would have to wait for an official decision from ASUU’s NEC and any subsequent announcement concerning the suspension of the strike before resumption arrangements could be made.
