Pro-chancellors want labour removed from exclusive list

The Committee of Pro-Chancellors of state-owned universities (COPSUN) has called for the removal of labour and wages from the exclusive legislative list to allow state governments exercise appropriate control over their workers.

In a communique issued at the end of its 52nd quarterly meeting in Abuja, the committee, headed by Mallam Yusuf Alli (SAN), argued that the structure and operation of the country’s federalism about public institutions established by Federal and state Governments under different legislations have been a major problem of state-owned institutions.

Stressing that state governments should be allowed to negotiate wages with their workers, the committee said the rights of trade unions to demand for welfare of members should be based on employer-employee relationship.

Worried by the instability in the academic calendars of state universities due to incessant strikes by academic and non-academic staff unions, the committee appealed to Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) to de-emphasise strike as major tool of negotiation with the Federal Government.

While observing that the disruption in academic calendar has adversely affected the quality of the nation’s universities, their products and research outputs, Alli said the core values of education have been negatively impacted by instability in the university system resulting in falling education standard.

COPSUN disclosed that as part of its contribution to the reform of tertiary education, an international conference would be organised before the end of the year to consider the various challenges facing universities and proffer appropriate solutions.