?The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on the Federal Government to restore sanity to the association, saying that many states had started sabotaging its operation.
Mr Michael Olukoya, the President of the union, made the call on Friday when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, in Abuja.
He listed Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Edo as the states sabotaging the association by recognising and paying check off dues to unregistered unions.
Olukoya mentioned the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) as one of such unions and said that the issue between NUT and ASUSS was now before a court.
He said the states were negotiating and releasing check off dues to ASUSS contrary to section 2(1) (2) (3) of the Trade Union Act Cap T. 14 L F N (2004).
“It is against this background that a good number of these states are currently engulfed in labour crisis because illegal bodies have been empowered by their governors to hijack labour struggle.
“This problem is not peculiar to NUT; a good number of other unions are suffering similar conspiracy by the state governments through intolerance of legitimate labour struggle.’’
Olukoya urged the minister to advise the Police Colleges and State Security Service (SSS) to allow teachers in their schools to belong to NUT since the Industrial Arbitration Panel had given them the right to belong to the union.
He urged the government to make 70 years the retirement age for NUT members as was granted to lecturers in tertiary institutions.
Olukoya expressed concern over the non-implementation of 27.5 per cent Teachers Allowance and Minimum wage in some states, and called on the Federal Government to ensure that?every state complied with the directive.
Responding, Wogu gave assurance that the government would look into all the demands made by the union, in line with President Goodluck Jonathan’s people-oriented government.
He said the recognition of ASUSS by some states was illegal as it was only the ministry that registers trade union. (NAN)
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