The 15-day ultimatum issued by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, to the Federal Government to address key demands, including a contentious new scheme of service, is set to expire on October 23.
If unresolved, polytechnic lecturers nationwide are poised to embark on industrial action.
Dr. Iloma Richard, ASUP’s Zone D Coordinator, disclosed that the government has made no progress in resolving issues, despite the union suspending a previous strike in July to enable stakeholder engagement. The unresolved matters include delays in revising polytechnic lecturers’ conditions of service, discrepancies in the Federal Polytechnic Act, and a lack of quality control in polytechnic education.
The union also criticized the government’s slow response to implementing salary reviews for state polytechnics and the non-release of arrears for federal polytechnics. As the deadline approaches, ASUP’s National Executive Council is preparing to issue directives for members to withdraw their services if no progress is made.
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Richard emphasized the urgency of these issues, warning that continued neglect could collapse technical and vocational education in Nigeria. ASUP has formally communicated its position to relevant authorities and is ready to take action if demands remain unmet.
Some of the key issues highlighted include the lack of a review of the Scheme of Service for Polytechnics, non-release of the second tranche of the NEEDS Assessment intervention funds, and interference from the National Board for Technical Education in polytechnic admissions. The union also decried the non-release of salary review arrears, the delay in implementing the 25/35% salary increase, and the non-payment of promotion arrears in both federal and state polytechnics.
The union has made several demands, including the immediate reversal of decisions that violate the Federal Polytechnics Act, the release of the second tranche of intervention funds, and the restoration of the Scheme of Service for Polytechnics. Other demands include the inclusion of academic allowances in the budget, the implementation of the 25/35% salary review, and the resumption of the renegotiation of the 2010 agreement between ASUP and the federal government.
The union stressed that if these issues are not addressed promptly, they would resort to further actions, potentially leading to disruptive trade disputes affecting polytechnic operations.
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