The Kwara State branch of the Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) has taken the state's Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) to an industrial court in Akure, Ondo State, over alleged illegal deductions, as reported by The Guardian.

The ASUSS, led by its Chairman, Aduagba Mansur, and three others, filed a suit (NICN/IL/13/202) against the NUT, the State Teaching Service Commission, the Commissioner for Finance, the Head of Service (HoS), the Attorney-General, and the NUT.

According to Mr Mansur, the ASUSS had notified all relevant stakeholders of its intention to discontinue its membership with the NUT since 2020. The union is seeking the court's intervention to address the alleged illegal deductions and to resolve the dispute with the NUT.

The ASUSS's decision to take the NUT to court is aimed at protecting the interests of its members and ensuring that they are not subjected to unfair deductions.

“We have since 2020 seized to be members of the NUT,” adding: “It is disheartening to realise that the NUT never stopped deducting our check-off dues after we have since pulled out of the union.”

ASUSS accused the state’s Attorney-General of conniving with NUT to continue deducting the dues from source despite their alleged non-membership, “without our due authorisation.”

According to Aduagba, the group sought legal action to save the interest of over 9,000 members.

“We did not subscribe to the check-off dues being unlawfully deducted from our respective salaries into the coffers of the 5th defendant (NUT) and we, the claimants, are entitled to refund of same,” it said.

Subsequently, ASUSS prayed that the court directs the NUT based on combined effect of the provisions of Section 40 of the1999 Constitution (as altered) and Section 1244 of the Trade Unions Act, 2004 to stop the deduction.

It also sought the court’s order to mandate the defendants to render accounts of all the “unauthorised deductions and from their refund respective claimants and those represented.”

As part of the condition to ensure peace in the industry, ASUSS also sought a perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from further deducting from the salaries of the claimants without written instruction or authorisation.

In its argument, the union submitted that the defendants “flagrantly contravened the provisions of Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered); Section 12(4) of the Trade Unions Act and Section 5(4) of the Labour Act.”

State Chairman of TESCOM, Abubakar Bello Taoheed, said he would not respond to the development, stating: “The lawyers are handling it. I sincerely don’t have anything to say about it.”

In the same vein, State Chairman of the NUT, Yusuf Agboola, promised to get back to our reporter, saying: “I am coming, I am in a meeting, I will call you back,” which he never did at press time.