TRIBUNE
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has lost its bid to stop the recognition of its rival unions, the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), as trade unions as the court on Tuesday affirmed their recognition as trade unions in Nigerian universities.
The National Industrial Court in its ruling on the suit between the Federal Government and ASUU affirmed that CONUA and NAMDA are duly registered as trade unions and have the right to operate on Nigerian campuses.
The claimant in the suit, ASUU, had dragged the Minister of Labour and Employment, The Registrar, Trade Union, CONUA and NAMDA as first, second, third and fourth defendants respectively.
But delivering judgment, Justice Benedict Kanyip held that in line with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Act, there could be more than one trade union within employment.
The judge in addition stated that contrary to the claimant’s submission that Section 3 ( 2) of the Trade Union Act made the first and second defendants incompetent to register CONUA and NAMDA to coexist and carry out the same functions in the universities as ASUU.
