ASUU Strike: NLC Wades into FG-ASUU Impasse

The President of the NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, said this at a media briefing after an emergency meeting of the congress in Abuja yesterday where he lamented that the ongoing strike by ASUU had been allowed to drag this long.
"We will engage ASUU in consultations to ensure that they return to the negotiation tables, not only to come back to the negotiation table but to engage in negotiations that will lead to lasting solution to the prolonged crises," he said.
He expressed the readiness of the NLC to be directly involved in the negotiations.

"It is a serious situation that we are having to allow lecturers to be out of classroom for more than two months," Omar lamented.
He also spoke on the decentralisation of the minimum wage by the Senate during the constitutional amendment process describing it as a danger to the welfare of the working class.

"Putting the minimum wage on the exclusive list is not an accident. It is to ensure that workers are taken care of. It is a minimum wage, not a maximum wage, it is a benchmark, no two employers are paying the same thing, but there must be a minimum," he said.
Omar disclosed that the NLC was awaiting a concurrence from the Trade Union Congress (TUC) before deciding on the next line of action. He, however, noted that it was not too late for the Senate to retrace its steps.

The act would also cause major industrial unrest, labour warned in addition to worsening the national security situation
"Congress also notes with grave concern the poor conditions of service in Anambra State. Congress is particularly dismayed that a Permanent Secretary in the state civil service earns as low as N150,000 per month," it read.

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