Labour unions reject suspension of their activities in Oyo College

The Joint Action Committee of unions in the six state-owned tertiary institutions in Oyo State has demanded a reversal of the purported suspension of union activities at Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo.
This was contained in a statement signed by Afees Adeniyi, the State JAC Chairman and made available to newsmen in Ibadan on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the management of EACOED had suspended union activities at the College of Education.
The JAC, however, insisted that it was committed to a reversal of the suspension.
It said: “We were miffed that instead of showering accolades on the unions for their efforts which led to increases in the grant from 25 to 57 percent for the institution, all the management could do was suspension their activities.
“This suspension flagrantly contravened the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution as contained in the Trade Union (Amendment) Act 2005 that guarantees workers/unions right to embark on strike.
“It also guarantees their right to stage peaceful picketing, especially when there is a fundamental breach of contract of employment and collective agreement such as the agreement of no more fractional salary.”
It stated that the ban on the activities of the two unions in the institution was a breach of the rights of workers in the institution.
The union submitted that the suspension of union activities in the institution was aimed at distracting the attention of workers from their agitation for the payment of their 100% salary and the backlog of arrears.
It called for an upward review of grants to all the six institutions to an amount that could effectively accommodate 100 percent payment of monthly salary in each of the institutions.
JAC also called for the provision of a fund as a bailout to enable each institution to defray the accumulated salary arrears of between eight to 26 months.
It said: “We demand regular payment of 100 percent salary and the backlog of arrears of between eight and 26 months as contained in January 2018   Government-Labour agreement and Governing Councils-Unions agreement.
“JAC leadership found the proposed fractional monthly salary of 70% that negated January 2018 Governing Councils –Unions agreement unacceptable.”
The union commended the Congress of NASU and COEASU in Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo, for refusing such offer.