ASUP Strike: Poly workers write Education Minister, Adamu
The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, SSANIP, has threatened to join forces with the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, to cripple academic activities in their institutions if the government fails to fulfill the promises made to them.
SSANIP disclosed this yesterday via a letter to the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, dated April 1, 2022 and signed by it’s national Secretary, Hussaini Gwandu.
The association in the letter wondered why the Federal Government would sign an agreement it knew it would not fulfil.
SSANIP in the letter listed the contentious issues with the government such as the non-release of their Schemes of Service, non-release of their approved N15 billion for infrastructural development and inadequate funding of the Polytechnic Sector.
Other demands were the non-release of arrears of the 2019 minimum wage, non-release of CONTEDISS 15 arrears and other sundry issues.
The letter read in part, “Sir, you will recall that our union embarked on a warning strike in January 2021 as a means of expressing our grievances on Government’s refusal to pay the needed attention to the Education Sector (especially the Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology).
“It is quite unfortunate that despite several meetings initiated by the Ministry of Labour with representatives of the Office of the Head of Service Ministry of Education Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and National income and Wages Commission in attendance, none of the promises made over issues listed above has been implemented.
“In view of the above, we hereby call on the Government to attend to the issues raised within one month of this notice starting from today 1st April, 2022, or our Union will be left with no choice than to resume with our earlier suspended strike action. Please accept the assurances of the President’s esteem regards.’
It will be recalled that ASUP had on Thursday issued a one-month ultimatum to the government for resumption of strike action.
The union had suspended its industrial action which ran for 61 days in June 2021 after reaching an agreement with the government.