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From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The University of Calabar Branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have faulted the registration of new Unions by the federal government.
Speaking after an emergency meeting of the union held in Calabar on Wednesday, the UNICAL branch chairman
Comrade Edor J. Edor, also faulted the call to procribe ASUU, saying it will portend some kind of unintended consequences.
Edor maintained that the trade union act is clear on the registration of new unions and that the same ministry of labour and productivity had earlier declined the registration, explaining that section three and five of that act are very unambiguously clear and there is even a precedent.
He wondered why a group of people came together and applied to be registered as a union in 2013 and the same ministry of labour replied them that you cannot register it then because there is an existing union that caters for your need.
According to him, the act of registering another union is an
illegality as it was meant to cause division within our ranks even as we have not seen any member of the so-called CONUA.
He advised the federal government that instead of dividing ASUU, it is better to look into the problems at hand and proffer lasting solutions to restore quality education and services in tertiary institutions in the country.
Speaking on the 8-month old industrail action, Edor said an understanding has been reached following the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
He, however, disclosed that the branch does not call off strike as it is the duty of the NEC of ASUU to do so.
“It is a process arising from the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to see if there can be an amicable resolution of the issues.
“Some understanding have been reached and some shifting of grounds have been made. So, we need to process these through our various organs and then a resolution will be taken finally at the NEC.
“The branch does not suspend strike neither can it commence strike, it is the NEC that can do that” he stated.
On the recent appeal court judgment, Comrade Edor said: “The Court of Appeal gave us a window of seven days and if you should count it nominally we still have about three days to go.
“That ruling was given on Friday, last week, but if you are to count working days, the first working day after that judgment was on Tuesday, this week. So, we are still within time to appraise it and know what to do.”
