The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has urged organised labour to consider the students sitting for the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination as it plans an indefinite strike.
According to The Head of the National Office of WAEC, Dr. Amos Dangut, most of WAEC’s employees in Nigeria are members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) or the Trade Union Congress (TUC), both of which have called for the strike set to begin on Monday.
This appeal was on Sunday in Lagos where Dangut stated that the council shares the concerns of organised labour and those of the entire Nigerian workforce.
What he said
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) acknowledged a notice about the commencement of an indefinite strike by the NLC and TUC, starting Monday, June 3. WAEC expressed that it shares the concerns of Nigerian workers, noting that many of its employees in Nigeria are members of both unions.
The council highlighted that the unions have been longstanding partners in successfully implementing WAEC’s mandate.
Given this partnership, WAEC gently reminded the unions about the ongoing conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, 2024.
“The attention of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has been drawn to a notice of the commencement of an indefinite strike by NLC and TUC effective Monday, June 3.
“WAEC shares in the concerns of the generality of Nigerian workers, as most of its employees in Nigeria consist of members of both unions.
“It is also worthy of mention that the unions have always been partners with WAEC in the successful implementation of its mandate through the years.
“On this premise, therefore, we wish to, however, gently remind the unions of the ongoing conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates, 2024.
“The examination commenced in Nigeria and other member-countries of WAEC, The Gambia, Liberia and Sierra Leone, on April 30, and is scheduled to end by June 24.
“The week, June 3 to June 7, is scheduled for the conduct of such papers as Physics, Economics, Government and Civic Education across the federation and some West African countries,” the WAEC boss said.
He also stated that any disruption to the activities and arrangements for conducting the examination would significantly disadvantage candidates in their academic pursuits and therefore appealed to all stakeholders to cooperate.
“We hereby appeal to all stakeholders and the unions to cooperate with the council, as always, to allow the continuous smooth and peaceful conduct of the examination as has been scheduled”, he said.
Background
Earlier, Nairametrics reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) announced a nationwide strike set to commence today, Monday, June 3rd, 2024.
This announcement came following the tripartite committee’s failure to reach an agreement on a new minimum wage for workers.
The organized labour leaders noted that the decision comes after a previous demand for the Federal Government to finalize all negotiations regarding a new minimum wage by the end of May which has now expired.
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