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The
National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADL) has urged the Minister of
Labour and Productivity, Hassan Lawal, to without delay convey the notice of
objection filed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the
Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP)’s award to the National Industrial
Court, so as not to miscarry justice in the trade conflict between ASUU and the
Federal Government.
In
a letter to the minister, dated 28 July 2004, NADL reminded the minister that
the alleged failure of his ministry to notify ASUU of the award given by the
IAP on the ASUU/FG conflict as required by law so that the parties could raise
objection if they so desired has committed the union wrongly to the award of
IAP.
As
a result of a protracted industrial action by ASUU, which grounded Nigerian
universities for months, the bone of contention between it and the FG was
referred to the IAP, which gave an award about which both parties were expected
to be notified by the minister of Labour.
According
to the NADL letter, a notice dated 18 July ref. No. HE/850/CON.1/61 was copied
by the ministry to ASUU and gave a condition for any objection to the award to
be filed within seven days of the notice.
Meanwhile,
the union claimed it did not receive any notice from the ministry until March
31 when it immediately raised its objections, signed by its former president,
who stumbled on the notice.
NADL
noted that the letter of 18 March would have been enough notice for ASUU but
that it was not delivered to the union in any evident way that can prevent ASUU
from denying the receipt of the letter.
“Since
the minister of Labour is duty bound to communicate any award made by the
Arbitration Panel set up under the Act to the parties to a dispute, the burden
of proof that the said notice of award was given to ASUU on the same date is on
the minister and the same is essential in the bindingness or otherwise of the
notice,” the NADL letter says.
The association, therefore, asked the minister to avert
further disruption of academic programmes in the country and save the students
another lull in their intellectual development by referring ASUU’s
objections to the highest industrial court in the land.
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