Looming strike: 14 institutions owe staff 10 months salaries

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has decried the non-payment of 10 months salaries in 14 institutions.

Chika Ogonwa, the ASUP’s coordinator, Zone ‘D’, made this known in a media briefing after an emergency meeting of the union in Owerri on Wednesday.

The zone is made up of all the polytechnics, colleges of education and monotechnics in south-east and south-south.

Ogonwa, in a communiqué issued after the meeting, said the affected institutions were Abia, Edo and Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, Benue, Imo, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Ondo, Kogi, Lagos, Ogun, and Nasarawa.

He said despite the release of the bailout fund by the federal government, the state-owned polytechnics and colleges of education, workers were still being owed arrears of salaries.

Ogonwa said ASUP was equally worried over the inability of government to implement its agreement with the union after the nine months strike between 2013 and 2014.

He said ASUP was ready to resume on another strike if government failed to look into the issues raised by the union.

The zone chairman said the issues under dispute included the non-implementation of the needs assessment report of 2014, the conduct of Needs Assessment survey for public polytechnics and monotechnics.

Ogonwa also spoke against the victimisation of union officials and non-release of check-off dues and interference in the union activities by the management of Federal Polytechnic, Oko, and four others.