Blueprint
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) would be meeting with the Federal Government on Tuesday, 27th April 2021 over the ongoing industrial action by the workers.
This is even as the workers vowed to sustain its ongoing strike until the unresolved details in the offer presented to it in earlier meetings are are sorted out
The Union was scheduled to meet with the minister of labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige April 15, but was aborted.
ASUP president Comrade Anderson U. Ezeibe said the meeting has now been rescheduled for Tuesday, the 27th of April 2021 on a tentative basis.
According to him, the Union has attended 2 out of 3 scheduled meetings with the government since the declaration of the strike action.
“Immediate gains recorded within this period include the reconstitution and inauguration of governing councils of ALL Federal Polytechnics in the country (dissolved since May, 2020) thereby completing the governance structures of the institutions as captured by law.
“The value addition is that stalled staff appraisal processes can now be concluded, principal officers can also be appointed, the Union’s renegotiation processes with the government can now be re-started and concluded, as well as other duties ascribed to councils by Law can now be performed thereby concluding the emergence of a new legal regime for all Federal Polytechnics. In same vein, the visitation panels are now empowered to perform their duties having been inaugurated within the period as well, while a substantive Executive Secretary has been appointed for the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).”)
He said on the other items, the Union received offers from the Government during the meetings for the release of an infrastructure revitalization fund of N15bn for the sector; The release of owed 10 months arrears of the new minimum wage within a yet to be determined period.
Other offers include the reconstitution of the Renegotiation Committee of the agreement between the Union and the government since 2010 and conclusion of the renegotiation process; The conclusion of the review process and release of the Scheme of Service and Conditions of Service for the sector which has been undergoing review since 2017; The review of the normative instruments for institutional and programmes accreditation to include minimum qualifications for appointment of principal officers in the sector, implementation of the approved 65 years retirement age for the sector, among others.
It also included the conclusion of ongoing moves to ensure the recall of victimized officers of the Union; The constitution of an Interministerial Committee to resolve all contending issues against the release of CONTISS 15 migration arrears for the lower cadre; The involvement of the Federal Ministry of Education in resolving issues around the implementation of IPPIS in the sector.
He however, said “Following the consideration of the offers as presented, the NEC of our Union resolved to sustain the strike action until the unresolved details in the offer are sorted out in the meeting(s) expected in the coming days”
This news originally appeared in Blueprint.
