Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has tasked the federal government to address some of the challenges confronting the union in order to avert its planned nationwide strike action.
The ASUP had before the COVID-19 pamdemic, issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet some of their demands which include non-implementation of the Polytechnics NEEDS assessment, shoddy implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS), non remittance of check-off dues, delays in paying the recently assented National Minimum Wage among others.
Anderson Ezeibe, ASUP president informed that members of the union have been holding their congresses to embark on strike from next week.
Ezeibe, said thisbwhen he led a delegation of the union members to pay a working visit with the Minister of Education in Abuja on Tuesday.
Ezeibe said his members are regretting why they heeded to the enrollment for the IPPIS, saying that the policy had been characterized with omission of bonafide staff names, non-remittance of check off dues, including closing the windows to effect corrections where necessary.
Ezeibe lamented the victimization of members over their participation in previous industrial actions, saying five staff of Institute of Management Technology (IMT) Enugu, including two staff of Federal Polytechnic, Bida, Niger State have been dismissed without tangible reasons.
He said, “Recall that we had issued 15days ultimatum and some pertinent demands before the Covid19 outbreak, being Nigerians, we had to encourage our members to endure, be that as it may, with the gradual reopening of economic activities, it is pertinent we bring up these issues again.
“This meeting is timely because at the moment all our members have been holding their congresses to embark on strike from next week. Our demands ranges from non implementation of the Polytechnics NEED Assessment since 2014, no single Polytechnic has benefitted from these exercise, we feel the aim of embarking on the exercise will be defeated if non of our institutions benefit from it.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the new minimum wage into law but some Polytechnics are owed 10 months arrears, there are no indications that it will be released soon. Only Kano and Jigawa States are implementing, about 34 states are sitting on the fence doing nothing about it.
“Regarding IPPIS, our members enrolled in November 2019, as we speak we have lots of omission, non remittance of check off dues and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation closed the window for correction on salaries and other entitlements,”Ezeibe lamented.
The president also lamented lack of COVID-19 protocols across Polytechnics in the country, saying that polytechnics in the country were not ready to resume normal academic activities as most of the protocols outlined by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 were not in place.
Responding, the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba said their demands would be subjected to further scrutiny with a view to putting forward constraints on the part of government that may also be delaying implementation.
