Polytechnic lecturers demand salary review

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has called for an upward review of the salaries of its lecturers.

Anderson Ezeibe, the president of ASUP, in a statement on Tuesday, renewed the call for the conclusion of an ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement renegotiation, which it said did not meet a definite conclusion in 2022.

Ezeibe said there is a need for an improved wage review that reflects current economic realities.

He said ASUP has undertaken a review of a recently approved and released wage structure for polytechnics, as communicated through the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC).

The ASUP president said there is a need to revise the new structure, which reflects an increase of 35 percent for chief lecturers and 25 percent for other layers of staff under the CONPCASS pay scale.

Ezeibe said the increase is only a slight adjustment to the offer of 35 percent and 23.5 percent made by the government during the renegotiation of the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement in July 2022.

He added that the decision falls short of what is being demanded.

The ASUP president said, while the union was considering the offer in 2022, the renegotiation process went into hiatus as the government failed to resume the process.

“It is equally important to note that the offer was made by the government before the latest and current economic downturn, occasioned by the removal of subsidy on the premium motor spirit in May 2023,” he added.

“It, therefore, goes without saying that the positives expected from this move by the government have already been severely undermined by the current marketplace realities, and we expect the government to note this.”