ASUP issues one-month strike ultimatum

 

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics has given the Federal Government one month to fix the issues that led to the strike or face a review of the action.

This was revealed by the ASUP's National President, Anderson Uzeibe, while speaking to press after the 102nd National Executive Council meeting in Yola on Thursday.

"Following extensive consideration, the union's National Executive Council has chosen to allow the government another month to address the outstanding issues as enumerated or face a reassessment of our union's postponed industrial action," he said.

ASUP had gone on a statewide strike on April 6, 2021 to press home its demands, which included the bad state of public polytechnics and monotechnics, as well as the non-payment of ten months' worth of new minimum wage arrears.

The union had suspended its 2-month-old industrial action on June 9th, 2021, after making headway in subsequent conversations with the Federal Government and signing a performance agreement with the FG.

However, ASUP's leadership stated in a statement on Thursday that its decision was prompted by the government's inability to fulfill key sections of the Memorandum of Action inked with the union nine months ago.

Despite being approved by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, some months ago, the government has failed to deliver the sum of N15 billion as the first tranche of the agreed N800 billion revitalisation money, according to its president.

Payment of outstanding minimum wage arrears; issuance of revised normative instrument for institutions administration and accreditation; conformity with the provisions of the Federal Polytechnic Act (as amended 2019); and non-delay in the appointment of rectors are among the other issues being pressed.

In a similar incident, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has stayed steadfast in its almost one-month strike over the FG's refusal to meet the terms of the negotiated 2019 Memorandum of Understanding.

In addition, the Nigerian Universities Senior Staff Association and the Non-Academic Staff Union have lately joined the strike, further grounding academic activities in public universities.

In retrospect, the unions and the federal government have been at odds over the latter's chronic contempt for gentlemanly agreements. The federal government is frequently accused of being dishonest in productive discourse.