Academic staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), which has been on strike for over three months now, said at the end of a recent meeting of its National Executive Committee (NEC) at Oko in Anambra State, that the industrial action would continue, but was open to 'purposeful engagement with the government'. The union blamed government for the strike, saying it had failed to honour a 12-point agreement of 2012. It called directly on President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene to resolve the dispute since the issues involved were still at 'amenable level'.
Strikes by industrial unions have become unpopular in Nigeria, because such actions seek to destroy rather than improve the system that workers lay down their tools in efforts to force changes. The recent suspension of the ongoing strike by the local chapter of ASUP at the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, is an indication that such action has also become unpopular among members of academic unions in Nigeria's tertiary institutions
There is nothing wrong with ASUP, or any other union, pressing home genuine demands. However, the reflex recourse to strike as the first rather than the last resort especially by academic staff unions of tertiary institutions in Nigeria has had serious negative impact on the country's higher education system. Although a tradition seems to have been established from the fact that demands of the Nigerian worker were not always given attention, except through industrial actions, the consequences that result from strikes have always been more than the gains.
Strike paralyses the system. Students have had to spend lengthier academic sessions than the period of study stipulated for their programmes. This is why ASUP leaders should re-think the strike option. Strike should only be expedient when all avenues for amicable resolution of crisis have exhaustively been explored. Even so, the consequences should be weighed before action is taken. The more frequently academic staff members in Nigerian tertiary institutions engage in strikes over every demand, the more the public would come to view lecturers as cherishing redundancy with pay, than to being productive.
Now that the Senate has waded into the matter to resolve the issues at stake, the ASUP should immediately call off the 3-months-old strike so that academic activities can resume on all campuses of polytechnics in the country. Their students are not getting any younger while their lecturers insist on trying to remove the proverbial "ceiling" that stops their progression beyond certain levels in the civil service. The longer the strike goes on, the worse the problem gets for the students.
After suspending the strike, discussions and negotiations could still continue with government. Taking the matter to a court of law is another option than the indefinite strike action. Courts have the mechanism to enforce agreements reached by ASUP with government. Utilizing the redress mechanisms of the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP) is a better alternative to strikes.
It is a bad tradition that early warning symptoms are not acted upon before problems get out of hand. Agreements reached with trade unions through negotiations are in most cases not honoured by government which is one important factor responsible for many labour strikes in the country today. The only language, it appears, understood by government and by which it is compelled to honour agreements reached with labour unions is strike. But it is a decidedly crude language that should be used sparingly, no matter the apparent provocation.
However the matter is resolved, it is crucial that the government should enforce the principle of "No work, No pay", which is based on the law. Doing otherwise would be in breach of that law.
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