The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it would not yield to the decision by the Nigerian government to “starve” its members over the ongoing prolonged strike.
It described the decision as ill-advised, and said rather than forcing its members to back down, it would complicate matters.
ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, reiterated this on Monday in a statement issued to announce the extension of the three-month-old strike by additional three months.
He decried the failure of the government to accede to its request, and accused the elected and appointed government officials of showing no concern because their children and wards allegedly school abroad.
The statement reads in part; “Government’s resort to the use of starvation as a weapon for breaking the collective resolve of ASUU members and undermine our patriotic struggle to reposition public universities in Nigeria is ill-advised and may prove counterproductive”
The labour and employment minister, Chris Ngige, has never hesitated to state the government’s capacity to invoke Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act, which he noted empowers an employer to refuse to pay a worker who may embark on strike, “especially those on essential services.”
PREMIUM TIMES is aware that the government has since March stopped the payment of salaries for the striking ASUU members.
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