The Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Delta state wing, plans to stage a peaceful protest on Thursday, citing what it calls an attempt to divide the union and violate a 2018 stakeholders' agreement involving the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools, ASSUS.
The union formally notified the Department of State Services in a letter dated July 24, signed by state secretary Comrade Dan Basime, and requested security protection for its members during the action.
According to the NUT, recent developments threaten industrial peace and seek to reopen matters it believes were settled through the 2018 agreement. The union said this made the protest necessary.
The decision came after the Office of the Secretary to the State Government convened a July 20 meeting with ASSUS and other stakeholders to discuss reversing the ₦500 levy deduction by the Office of the Head of Service.
NUT fired back with a strongly worded letter dated July 23 to the Secretary to the State Government, protesting its exclusion from that meeting. As a principal signatory to the 2018 agreement, it argued, it should have been invited.
The union warned that discussing matters affecting it without its presence could damage industrial peace and create unnecessary divisions in the education sector.
NUT maintained that issues involving trade unions and check-off dues fall under federal law and the statutory authority of the Registrar of Trade Unions. It stressed that no body can unilaterally change existing arrangements outside the legal framework.
The union recalled that then governor Senator Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa convened the 2018 stakeholders' agreement, where all parties agreed to a quarterly ₦500 levy.
No subsequent meeting has been held to alter that decision, it noted.
Any attempt to revisit or overturn the agreement without all stakeholders would breach that understanding, the NUT contended.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue and collective bargaining while stressing that its preference for peaceful engagement shouldn't be read as weakness.
NUT also expressed support for the administration of Governor Rt. Hon.
Sheriff Oborevwori and implementation of the M.O.R.E. Agenda.
As of filing this report, neither the Delta State Government nor ASSUS had publicly responded to the NUT's protest notification or the issues it raised.
If the protest proceeds, it will refocus attention on one of Delta state's longest industrial disputes. The action places fresh pressure on all parties to engage in dialogue and reach a settlement that protects industrial harmony and the stability of the state's education sector.
