CONGRESS OF
UNIVERSITY
ACADEMICS
THE PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT
Welcome to the official website of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA).
CONUA was formed as an academic trade union in the Nigerian university system on 12th February, 2018.
The formal inauguration of CONUA was held on 6th March 2018 at Block I Auditorium of the Obafemi Awolowo University with over 120 members in attendance, including representatives of University of Ilorin and Kwara State University. “(Click here CONUA STORY- THE JOURNEY (1) to download the full story.)”
The Union was formed in consonance with a series of national and international labour laws, conventions and declarations. One of such is the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which states as follows in Section 40:
“Every person shall be entitled to assemble freely and associate with other persons, and in particular he may form or belong to any political party, trade union or any other association for the protection of his interests.”
Another Nigerian labour law is the Trade Unions Act (2004) which has the following provision in Section 12(4):
“Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act, membership of a trade union by employees shall be voluntary and no employee shall be forced to join any trade union or be victimised for refusing to join or remain a member.”
Also relevant is the International Labour Organisation (ILO) 1948 Convention 87 which states as follows in Article 2 of Part I:
“Workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the rules of the organisation concerned, to join organisations of their own choosing without previous authorisation.”
This is complemented by Article 2(1) of the 1949 ILO Convention 98 which states:
“Workers’ and employers’ organisations shall enjoy adequate protection against any acts of interference by each other or each other’s agents or members in their establishment, functioning or administration.”
The 1990 Kampala Declaration on Intellectuaes thus:l Freedom and Social Responsibility is further elucidatory of the above-mentioned provisions on freedom of association as they relate to the intellectual community. Specifically, the Kampala Declaration states,
“Article 20
Members of the intellectual community have a responsibility to promote the spirit of tolerance towards different views and positions and enhance democratic debate and discussion.
Article 21
No one group of the intellectual community shall indulge in the harassment, domination or oppressive behaviour towards another group. All differences among the intellectual community shall be approached and resolved in the spirit of equality, non-discrimination and democracy. …
Article 23
No member of the intellectual community shall participate in or be a party to any endeavour which may work to the detriment of the people or the intellectual community or compromise scientific, ethical and professional principles and standards.”
Considering the foregoing underpinnings of the existence of CONUA, the Union is committed to the advancement of the welfare of its members without prejudice to the developmental aspirations of the nation.
MOTTO
Knowledge, Integrity, Freedom
VISION
To have a public university system within which optimum conditions exist for the overall development of Nigeria.
MISSION
To deploy requisite intellectual resources for the promotion of the welfare and defence of the interests of our members, while being cognisant of our responsibilities to our students and the nation at large, within the context of global best practices
Want to be a member? Please click – https://conua.org/be-a-member/