The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) and the Academic Staff Union Polytechnic (ASUP) show the way to win strikes – by continuing with strike action until victory is actually achieved. Negotiations were held whilst the strikes by the three unions continued – unlike the case of the NLC strike in Kaduna where the strike was suspended as soon as they were invited to negotiations by the Ministry of Labour.
JUSUN continued its strike throughout negotiations and even after they had signed an agreement on 20th May. They were waiting for actual implementation. The strike was eventually called off after pressure from the National Judicial Council. However, the suspension was only effective from Monday 14th June, 2021 almost a month after JUSUN had signed the agreement. Similarly, ASUP signed an agreement on 27th April, but continued their strike until 10th June 2021.
JUSUN, PASAN and ASUP show the approach that all trade unions should take. They agreed to their demands and struck. Negotiations were held and the strikes continued. An agreement was reached and the unions signed, but the strikes continued to ensure implementation. But they also needed to call for more solidarity to be able to win their demands in full. JUSUN was at least talking about organising public protests, but the NLC showed the way with daily protests in Kaduna for the three days of that strike.
