Strikes: Tinubu directs the release of ASUU members’ four months’ worth of delayed pay

Following their eight-month strike in 2022, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the release of four months’ worth of withheld pay to Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members.

As a result, the federal government had implemented its “no work, no pay” edict, depriving the university teachers of their wages.

However, in “invoking the Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy,” the President has authorised the partial waiver of the order, according to a statement made on Friday by the Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Ajuri Ngelale.

According to the statement, the measure was taken to lessen the impact of the nation’s ongoing economic changes and to honour the faithful execution of the union-federal government agreement.

The announcement recalled the “No Work, No Pay” Order that had been implemented against the striking ASUU members after the start of their eight-month strike, which started on February 14, 2022, and ended on October 17, 2022.

According to the statement, President Bola Tinubu “has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ Order on ASUU, which will allow for the proper implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country.

The Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must obtain a Document of Understanding (DoU) establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last one to be granted to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and all other Education Sector Unions. The President has directed the grant of the waiver.

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In a similar vein, following the implementation of the deal agreed with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) over their recent strike, the president approved what he said is the final relaxation of the “no work, no pay” rule for resident doctors.

On August 12 of this year, the doctors ended their roughly two-week strike as a result of negotiations with the federal government.

Their demands included the immediate payment of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), an upward revision of the Consolidated Medical wage Structure (CONMESS), and the payment of all wage arrears owed to its members since 2015.

Along with the immediate review of hazard allowance by all state governments and private tertiary health institutions with residency programmes for doctors, they also demanded the immediate massive recruitment of clinical staff in hospitals and the abolition of bureaucratic restrictions on the prompt replacement of doctors and nurses who leave the system.

Following the start of their industrial action on July 26, 2023, the “no work, no pay” decision was implemented against the striking NARD members on August 1, 2023.

The same Presidential Prerogative of Mercy Principle was invoked by the President in approving the waiver, according to a different statement made by Ngelale.

The statement stated that on August 12, 2023, the Resident Doctors ended their strike following many fruitful discussions between the federal government and NARD.

Additionally, it confirmed that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation had been instructed to withhold any pay that the striking NARD members had earned during the course of the strike action’s 17 days.

“In view of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between the Resident Doctors and the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order on Resident Doctors, allowing the members of the NARD to receive the salaries which were previously withheld during the 17-day strike action,” it continued.

“The President has directed the grant of the waiver with a mandatory requirement that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last one granted to the National Association of Resident Doctors and all other Health Sector Unions.”