The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has given the Federal Government 21 days to meet its demands or face an industrial action.
The academic union listed 13 demands it is asking the Federal Government to address within the period to prevent the closure of polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide.
ASUP said the government’s failure to satisfactorily address the 13 demands could lead to the withdrawal of services of its members nationwide.
The union said it took the position at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting yesterday in Abuja.
Addressing reporters at the end of the NEC meeting, ASUP President Shammah S. Kpanja said: “A failure to utilise this window may lead to the declaration of a trade dispute and withdrawal of services of our members across public polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide.”
ASUP said its demands include non-release of a circular by the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to cover the peculiar academic allowance; non-release of arrears of the 25/35 per cent salary review/non-implementation in state-owned polytechnics; delay in granting a dual mandate structure for polytechnics; non-release of the second round of NEEDS ASSESSMENT intervention; non-release of promotion arrears/non-implementation of promotion in many state-owned institutions, and renegotiation of ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement.
Others are: refusal to domesticate relevant portions of the Federal Polytechnics Act by state-owned polytechnics; sustained dichotomy against HND holders in the public service; stalled discussions on the release of CONTISS 15 arrears, among others.
Also, the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has rejected the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund (TISSF) – a programme funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) for tertiary institution workers.
The union, in a statement by its President, Ibeji Nwokoma, described the TISSF loan initiative as a “distraction”.
The statement said: “NAAT demands the payment of all outstanding arrears legitimately earned by its members, which include the payment of the three and a half months of withheld salaries, payment of seven months’ arrears of Occupational Hazard Allowance (OHA), and release of third-party deductions for the two months of withheld salaries that were paid.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
