The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, Zone B has given public polytechnic owners an ultimatum to meet its demands, warning that failure to do so could lead to a shutdown of the institutions.
The deadline for the 15-day ultimatum is set for the 21st of this month. In a statement on Friday in Jos, Zone B Coordinator Simji Lumpye, alongside other union officials, expressed dissatisfaction with the poor treatment of polytechnic staff. He emphasized that the union’s National Executive Council had extensively reviewed issues impacting polytechnics, such as violations of the Federal Polytechnics Act and state laws, as well as the disregard for agreed-upon academic and governance structures.
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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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