The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has criticised the Federal Government over what it described as arbitrary threats to workers using the ‘No Work, No Pay’ rule, saying it will never deter them from proceeding on strike if they so please.
General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, made the observation in a paper he presentation with title, ‘Recurring Threats by Government Officials to Enforce the ‘No Work, No Pay’ Policy: A Call for Justice, Collective Bargaining, and Dignity of Labour’.
He said the phrase has more or less become a recurring instrument of intimidation in the hands of government officials in Nigeria.
According to him, whenever trade unions contemplate lawful industrial action, federal authorities are quick to brandish the so-called clause in Section 42(1) (a) of the Trade Disputes Act (Cap. T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004), noting that it has been wielded not as a tool of justice or industrial harmony, but as a weapon to silence, criminalise, and delegitimise the genuine struggles of workers for fairness, dignity, and the fulfillment of agreements.
Putting sentiments aside, Adeyemi said union leaders are not anarchists or agitators for chaos, stressing that strikes are not impulsive or frivolous actions, but a last resort, invoked only after every lawful and conciliatory avenue has been exhausted.
He acknowledged that though strikes are disruptive, but are often the inevitable response to government’s own dereliction of duty, its failure to honour agreements, implement negotiated terms, and uphold the sanctity of labour laws.
He said, “The Legal Framework: Understanding ‘No Work, No Pay’:
The oft-quoted Section 42(1)(a) of the Trade Disputes Act states: ‘Where any worker takes part in a strike, he shall not be entitled to any wages or other remuneration for the period of the strike, and such period shall not count for the purpose of reckoning the period of continuous employment.’
“While this provision appears straightforward, it cannot be interpreted in isolation. The same Act, in Sections 18–20, establishes elaborate procedures for conciliation, mediation, and arbitration in resolving trade disputes. These provisions exist to ensure that strikes arise only after due process has been followed, and that government, as the employer in most cases, acts in good faith throughout the process.
“Moreover, Section 15 of the Labour Act (Cap. L1, LFN 2004) clearly stipulates that: ‘Wages shall become due and payable at the end of each period for which the contract is expressed to subsist, and such period shall not exceed one month.’”
Buttressing his arguments further, Adeyemi said when government delays or withholds workers’ wages for months, it is in direct violation of this law. Hence, the selective enforcement of ‘No Work, No Pay’ while ignoring ‘No Pay, No Work’ is hypocritical, unjust, and contrary to the principles of equity upon which industrial relations are built.
By Innocent Oweh @TheIndependent
