Nigeria's TUC and CONUA demand immediate signing of academic agreement

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) and the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) are demanding that the Federal Government immediately finalize and sign a proposed collective bargaining agreement.

Following a National Executive Council meeting at the University of Abuja, CONUA President Dr. Niyi Sunmonu warned that the union reserves the right to pursue lawful trade union actions if the government fails to conclude the agreement. The union cited unresolved welfare issues, including three and a half months of withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and irregular payments of recently approved benefits, as threats to industrial harmony in Nigerian universities.

TUC General Secretary Comrade Nuhu Toro expressed solidarity with the academics, stating that any attack on the union constitutes an attack on the entire Nigerian labour movement. He urged the government to translate its recognition of CONUA into meaningful negotiations and a binding signed agreement rather than treating collective bargaining as a political favor.