The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has postponed its planned nationwide strike until December 2, 2024, giving the Federal Government additional time to meet longstanding demands. This delay follows ASUP’s October 7 ultimatum, which called for government action on issues ranging from alleged administrative overreach by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to improvements in infrastructure and staff welfare.
In a statement released on Saturday, ASUP confirmed the new date and outlined its conditions. “The Union issued a mandatory 15-day ultimatum to the proprietors of public polytechnics and colleges of technology following a review of the sector’s state of affairs at the 111th meeting of the National Executive Council,” ASUP noted.
The statement highlighted 11 demands, including a review of NBTE’s alleged interference in HND admissions, delays in promoting academic staff, unpaid promotion arrears, and the implementation of a 25%-35% salary review from January to December 2023 for federal polytechnics. ASUP also called for the revitalization of infrastructure through the NEEDS Assessment intervention.
ASUP reported that on October 23, a meeting with all stakeholders was convened by the Federal Ministry of Education to address these concerns. “Resolutions and an action plan were developed during the meeting to resolve issues, including instances of abuse of laws by some Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics and welfare of academic staff in the sector,” the union stated.
ASUP elaborated on the demands: “These include the implementation of the salary review in state institutions, payment of CONTISS 15 migration arrears, continued Peculiar Academic Allowance post-IPPIS exit, renegotiation of the 2010 FGN/ASUP agreement, and settling all outstanding third-party deductions.”
After an emergency meeting on October 24, ASUP’s NEC decided to delay the industrial action as a final show of good faith. “After exhaustive deliberations, the Union resolved to defer its proposed industrial action to December 2, 2024,” ASUP stated. “This decision was taken to gauge the government’s commitment to implementing the action plan agreed upon on October 23.”
ASUP concluded with a warning: “It is therefore the expectation of our Union that government will take advantage of this period to show commitment by diligently executing the action plan on each of the eleven items of dispute or risk a comprehensive withdrawal of service by academic staff in the Nigerian Polytechnic System,” ASUU Noted.
