Oyo College of Education lecturers embark on indefinite strike

The academic staff of Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate, have embarked on an indefinite strike over 10-month salary arrears.

Olatunde Ogundiran, the caretaker chairman, Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), on Monday released a communiqué, explaining the decision of the lecturers to embark on strike.

According to Ogundiran, the striking “lecturers were last paid in March 2016” and had been facing serious hardship ever since.

He noted that an ultimatum and strike notice recently issued to the school management by its congress had expired.

“We have endured several months of unpaid salaries before the congress decided to go on indefinite strike.

“We have had series of negotiations with the state government representatives where we appealed to the government to pay the workers but there was no positive response,” he said.

Ogundiran said the lecturers will not be able to afford their children’s school fees when they resume in January 2017, and also noted that many of them were indebted to foodstuff sellers.

He added that the lecturers tried to dialogue with the government to prevent the present situation but their efforts ended in futility.

“We want the public to know that we made every effort to avert this strike through dialogue with the government but are left with no other option,” Ogundiran said.