Polytechnic lecturers commence strike

The National President, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Chibuzor Asomugha, on Thursday directed the union members nationwide to commence an indefinite strike on Friday, October 4.

Mr Asomugha said that the directive became imperative following the federal government’s failure to meet the union’s demands.

He explained that two months after the union had suspended its previous strike, nothing had been done by the government to address the union’s demands.

The decision to embark on the strike on October 4 was reached at the 75th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the union in Bida, Niger State on September 28.

The union embarked on a nationwide indefinite strike on April 29, over the federal government’s failure to address its grievances; and suspended it on July 17 as a result of the intervention of the Joint Committees on Education of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Mr Asomugha said that it was over two months that the union suspended its strike, but “nothing has been done since we suspended our strike in July”.

He said that the federal government had not fulfilled its bargain in the 2009 agreement with the union.

The union’s demands include the possibility of lower cadres rising to CONTISS 15, and the release of a White Paper on the Visitation Panel to the Federal Polytechnics.

Others are the discrimination between polytechnics and university graduates in job placements and career progression, and the constitution of the Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics