CONUA condemns repeated university strikes, calls for Dialogue over confrontation

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has strongly criticised the recurrent strikes plaguing the nation’s tertiary institutions, emphasising the need for dialogue over disruptions. This stance was articulated by CONUA President, Niyi Sunmonu, during the association’s annual meeting held in Benin over the weekend.

Addressing journalists, Sunmonu deplored the numerous strikes that university lecturers have engaged in over the past four decades to demand better services and improvements in the dilapidated state of Nigerian universities, often with negligible results.

“We at CONUA don’t believe in strikes. We believe in dialogue. Even in war, peace is ultimately achieved on the negotiation table. CONUA believes in jaw-jaw instead of war-war,” Sunmonu asserted.

In a statement issued at the conclusion of the annual meeting and read by Dr. Sunmonu, the union expressed profound concern over the continued withholding of three and a half months’ salary of its members. This punitive action stems from a strike initiated by a sister academic union, despite CONUA members not participating in the industrial action.

To recall, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) declared an indefinite strike in February 2022, which extended for eight months to press home their demands. In response, the Federal Government implemented a “no work, no pay” policy, withholding seven and a half months’ salaries of all academic staff in Nigerian universities.

Sunmonu emphasised the injustice of the situation, stating, “What the government has done was to lump together those who embarked on strike with those who did not! This is unjust and tantamount to punishing the innocent along with the guilty. Through its unwarranted punishment of CONUA members, the government is inadvertently promoting the use of strikes as a means of pursuing workers’ demands.”

The union’s National Executive Council (NEC) cautioned that the failure to address these outstanding salaries could provoke severe crises within the universities, jeopardizing the current peace. “CONUA-NEC notes with apprehension that failure to process and pay these outstanding salaries could throw the universities into serious crises and jeopardize the peace currently being enjoyed,” the statement read.

Additionally, CONUA demanded the immediate release of third-party deductions for March, April, May, and June 2022 salaries, which were withheld due to the strike action. “We demand that the agencies of government involved be directed immediately to release these third-party remittances without further delay,” Sunmonu urged.

The union also called for the payment of promotion arrears, which have been pending for up to seven years in some cases, particularly in many state universities. Sunmonu highlighted the detrimental effect of these delays on academic morale and performance. “This dispiriting state of affairs should be addressed expeditiously to enhance the diligence of the many academics affected by the counter-productive delay in the payment of promotion arrears.”