The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) are threatening to shut down the nation’s polytechnics, if the government allowed the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) to keep intimidating its members into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform without first securing their emoluments.
The union is also accusing the government of not keeping faith with the memorandum of settlements signed with the union in 2017.
ASUP also accused government of frustrating the renegotiation of its agreement with government, which was supposed to have been concluded in December 2017.
Its National President Usman Dutse said in a statement in Abuja that after efforts to make the government implement its memorandum of settlement to no avail, they have no option than to issue a 21-day ultimatum beginning from October 2.
Key issues in the dispute between the government and the union are: the non-implementation of the NEEDS Assessment report of 2014; non-release of promotion arrears of members as well as persistent shortfalls in the personnel releases of Federal Polytechnics since 2016.
Others include nonpayment of negotiated allowances in polytechnics; nonpayment of salaries and other staff entitlements in many state-owned institutions; non-release of CONTISS 15 migration arrears; infractions in the appointment process of rectors in polytechnics; non-passage of the amendment bill of the Polytechnics Act; and victimisation of union officers. Read more