ASURI threatens strike … To picket Ministry of Science over unfair labour practice

The Academic Staff of Research Institutes (ASURI), is gearing up for a full blown strike action as the workers have declared a trade dispute with the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMS&T).

Already, the union has written to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Minister of Labour and Employment and the Minister of Science and Technology, intimating them of their intention to embark on strike.

In the letter signed by the General Secretary of ASURI, Dr Theophilus Ndubuaku, the union listed among others, the refusal to conduct 2017 promotion interviews in many research institutions as reason for their actions.

He declared that the union would soon commence picketing of the Ministry of Science and Technology until their demands including the redeployment of  Shamaki were met.

It regretted that several pending trade disputes, notices of strike and picketing of science ministry, had failed to prod the ministry to adopt a humane approach to harmonious labour relations.

In view of this, Ndubuaku called on the Federal Government to ensure staff promotions were conducted and backdated in all institutions under the ministry, and that all acts of injustice suffered by its members at the National Biotechnology Development Agency  (NABDA) and Bioresources Development Centre (BIODEC), should be redressed to avert the pending strike action.

“The latest in the series of outrageous unfair labour practices and disregard for harmonious labour relations  on the part of the FMS&T is the refusal to conduct 2017 promotion interviews in many research institutions namely: Nigeria Institute for Trypanosomiasis Research (NITR), Zaria; National Institute of Leather Research (NILEST), Zaria; National Research Institute for  Chemical Technology, (NARICT), Kaduna.

“There has arisen a stumbling block to a normal process in a manner that is indicative of high-handedness and a strategy to brew crisis. This of course will lead to stagnation of work in these institutions.

“We have found based on all the pressure that we exerted on the management of these institutions that all fingers point to the Ministry and particularly to the Permanent Secretary of FMS&T, Dr (Mrs) Amina Shamaki, as being responsible for delaying and perhaps thwarting the promotion exercises by way of excuses. The reason has become apparent.

“Even the excuse that the institutions were on strike at the later part of 2017 is lame and untenable because across the 12 MDAs that supervise research institutions in Nigeria, the Union did not prevent any of them from conducting promotion interviews.”