ASUP Suspends Strike, Direct Its Members to Resume Monday

Latest: ASUP Suspends Strike, Direct Its Members to Resume Monday

 The two-week warning strike embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has been suspended. The union made disclosed this yesterday and directed its members to resume academic activities next month. 

This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by the National Publicity Secretary of the union Abdullahi Yalwa.

“The two weeks definite strike of the Union will be rounding off on the 29th of May, 2022 as agreed by the emergency meeting of NEC.

“Consequently, the Union is requesting members to resume duties effective 30th of May, 2022 while hoping that government will take advantage of the window to address the 5 outstanding items,” he said in the statement.

“Further directives/ updates shall be released after the 103rd meeting of NEC which is scheduled to hold in the month of June 2022 during which the situation shall be reviewed.”

The union said the move followed “the significant inroads were made in four (4) of the items in our list of demands” which include payment of areas of the new minimum wage among others.

However, ASUP said there are four more outstanding issues yet to be addressed by the government. This includes the release of the approved N15Bn revitalization fund for the sector.

“This issue is still stuck in the Federal Ministry of Finance with a promise of follow-up action by the Education Ministry,” the statement added.

Others, the union’s statement noted, are the release of arrears of CONTISS 15 migration for the lower cadre; the release of the Scheme of Service and Conditions of Service; continued delay in the appointment of substantive Rectors for Federal Polytechnics in Mubi, Offa, and Kaduna, and the resolution of issues with members in Colleges of Agriculture

Earlier: BREAKING: ASUP Declares 2-Week Strike Starting May 16th

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has announced that it will commence a two-week strike from May 16, 2022.

ASUP, in a statement released on Wednesday, said it took the decision after an emergency National Executive Council meeting held on Wednesday.

The union in a statement signed by ASUP president, Anderson Ezeibe said the federal government is yet to meet the union’s demand. ASUP suspended its industrial action declared on the 6th of April 2021 on the 10th of June, 2021 following the signing of a Memorandum of Action (MoA) with the government.

The signed MoA contained a clear path to a sustainable resolution of the issues in dispute with timelines attached to each of the items in dispute.

Part of the demand includes the non-release of the approved revitalization fund for the sector, Approved N15bn, yet to be released 11 months after approval by the President.

“Non-release of arrears of the new minimum wage: The owed 10 months arrears for the Polytechnics is yet to be released. The composite amount covering all Federal Tertiary Institutions to the approximate figure of N19Bn currently exists as an AIE in the Accountant Generals Office.”

“We are deploying this medium to equally appeal to members of the public to prevail on the government to do the needful within the two weeks period so as to avoid an indefinite shutdown of the sector.” the union threatened.

ASUP Extends Its One-Month Ultimatum to FG

Polytechnic academic Staff under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has extended its ultimatum given to the federal government to address their outstanding issues by another 30 days.

Failure to do this, the union said it might be forced to resume its suspended industrial action.

The Chairman of the Kaduna Polytechnic chapter, Mohammed Mohammed, who revealed this at a press conference yesterday, said the decision was reached at the 102nd meeting of the union’s National Executive Council.

“In choosing to extend the long expired three-month suspension period of our industrial action, we are convinced that the extra window of one month typifies our level of restraint and consideration for our students and other members of the public even as well hope that the government will take advantage of this opportunity to avoid a shutdown of the sector,” he said.

Mohammed criticised the delay in the appointment of rectors for the federal polytechnics in Mubi, Kaduna, Offa and Ekowe “despite the conclusion of the process for the appointment of rectors in the affected institutions.”

He appealed to the public to prevail on the government to do the needful and avoid a shutdown of the sector.

Earlier: ASUP Issues One Month Strike Notice

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has threatened to resume the strike action it had suspended in 2021 if the government does not honor agreements entered with the union.

The national president of ASUP, Anderson Uzeibe, made the disclosure at the end of its 102nd National Executive Council meeting, saying the decision became necessary after the government failed to implement important aspects of the memorandum of action signed with the union nine months ago.

According to Uzeibe, the government was yet to release the sum of N15 billion as the first tranche of the N800 billion revitalization fund nine months after the approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He listed other issues to include, the nonpayment of outstanding arrears of minimum wage, non-release of reviewed normative instruments for institutions, management and accreditation, breach of the provisions of the Federal Polytechnic Act as amended in 2019 and delay in the appointment of rectors.

Uzeibe warned that so long as the government and other proprietors in the polytechnic system continue to violate laws and signed agreements, the union would not hesitate to embark on industrial actions as it had become the most potent way for workers to pressurize the government.

By this, the union said it has given the government a one-month ultimatum to address the outstanding issues, and failure to do so would amount to resuming the suspended strike.

Earlier: ASUP Strike Looms As Federal Govt Fails to Release N15 Billion Revitalisation Funds

The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has disclosed that it may embark o strike any moment from now if the federal government fails to release the agreed N15 billion as revitalisation funds into the nation’s public polytechnics.

This was contained in a statement made available on Sunday by the publicity secretary of the union, Mr Abdullahi Yalwa at the end of the 101st regular National Executive Council meeting of the union held at the Gateway ICT Polytechnic, Saapade, Ogun State.

The lecturers said they would not give any warning strike again before going into total and indefinite industrial action should the government continue not to yield to meet its own terms of last agreement reached with the union in April and upon which they suspended their earlier strike that lasted about 65-days.

According to them, the union’s NEC has frowned on the government’s lethargic approach towards the implementation of some items in the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoA) despite the three-month suspension corridor granted by the union.

“And of particular interest in the items include the non-release of the approved N15 billion Revitalisation Fund for the sector more than three months after the approval, non-release of Minimum Wage Arrears to staff of Federal Polytechnics and several State-owned Polytechnics, non-commencement of the Renegotiation of the Union’s 2010 agreement despite the reconstitution of Governing Councils, as well as the continued non-payment of salaries in several state-owned institutions.”