The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has postponed its planned strike, originally scheduled to begin on October 21, 2024.
The industrial action is now set to commence on December 2, 2024.
This was contained in a communique signed by the National President of ASUP Mr Kpanja Shammah, after a meeting of the National Executive Council on Thursday.
The Union had issued a 15-day ultimatum to the proprietors of public Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology on the seventh of October notifying them of its intention to down tools if its demands are not addressed.
“Our Union had issued the mandatory 15 days ultimatum to the proprietors of public polytechnics and colleges of technology arising from a review of the state of affairs in the sector during the 111th meeting of the National Executive Council of the Union.
“The ultimatum issued on the 7th of October, 2024 contained 11 demands from the Union.
“Following the ultimatum, a resolution meeting of all stakeholders in the sector was convened on the twenty-third of October by the Federal Ministry of Education with a view to resolving the contentious issues,”thr statement reads.
According to the statement, resolutions and an action plan was developed during the meeting to resolve the issues which it said covered instances of abuse of extant laws, regulations and statutes by some Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics, items of welfare of academic staff in the sector, intrusion of the NBTE into the statutory responsibilities of Academic Boards of Polytechnics on matters of HND students’ admission and the revitalization of infrastructure in the sector through the NEEDS ASSESSMENT intervention.”
Other demands by the Union according to the statement are, “non implementation of promotion in state institutions, payment of all outstanding promotion arrears, payment of outstanding arrears of 25%/35% salary review from January 2023 to December 2023 in Federal Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology and the implementation of the salary review in state institutions.
“Payment of outstanding arrears of CONTISS 15 migration for lower cadres, sustenance of the payment of 7% Peculiar Academic Allowance post IPPIS exit, renegotiation of the FGN/ASUP agreement of 2010 and the payment of all outstanding third party deductions,”Mr Shammah said.
After the meeting at the Ministry of Education and subsequent interventions by stakeholders, the Union convened an emergency NEC meeting on 24th October, to review the action plan as proposed in the meeting with the stakeholders and determine the next steps.
The ASUP President said; “After exhaustive deliberations, the Union resolved to defer its proposed industrial action to the 2nd of December, 2024.
“The decision was taken to gauge the government’s commitment to implementing the action plan as agreed at the meeting of 23rd October, 2024.”
“It is therefore the expectation of our Union that government will take advantage of the period to show commitment by diligently executing the action plan on each of the eleven items of dispute or risk a comprehensive withdrawal of service by academic staff in the Nigeria Polytechnic System,”the Mr Shammah added.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
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