The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a four-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to conclude all ongoing negotiations with unions in the tertiary education sector or face nationwide industrial action.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, announced this during an interactive session with labour correspondents in Abuja, following a meeting between the NLC leadership and representatives of unions from universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Ajaero criticised the government’s no-work-no-pay policy against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), describing it as unfair and counterproductive. He declared that the NLC would now adopt a “no pay, no work” approach, insisting that the era of empty agreements and threats to unions was over.
He warned that if the government fails to resolve the issues within the given timeframe, the NLC’s National Executive Council would convene to declare a total nationwide action involving all unions across the country.
The ongoing ASUU strike has crippled academic activities nationwide. The union, led by Professor Chris Piwuna, began the industrial action after its 14-day ultimatum expired on September 28, citing unresolved issues such as unpaid salaries, welfare packages, and the non-implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement.
Although the Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, recently announced the release of N50 billion for earned academic allowances and N150 billion for a needs assessment in the 2025 budget, ASUU rejected the offer as inadequate.
Reaffirming its solidarity with ASUU and other tertiary education unions, the NLC urged the Federal Government to respect collective agreements, prioritise staff welfare, and safeguard the quality of Nigeria’s public tertiary education system.
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