The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has stated that it will embark on a nationwide strike from August 22, as a result of the Federal Government refusal to honor its agreement with it.
ASUP
President, Mr Usman Dutse, who disclosed this on Thursday at the end of
the Zone A emergency meeting of the union in Kaduna State, northwest
Nigeria, said the union will commence the industrial action, if the
Federal Government fails to honour the agreement it reached with it in
2013.
He said that since the suspension of the protracted strike in
2014, the government is yet to address some of the core issues that
necessitated the strike.
Dutse urged the government to as a matter of
urgency, address these issues in order to avoid another nationwide
industrial action.
A communique read by the Zone A Coordinator of
ASUP, Kabir Yunusa, noted that no significant progress has been made by
government in resolving the issues.
The statement highlighted the
issues to include the non-implementation of Needs Assessment Report of
2014, non-payment of salaries in many state-owned institutions, delay in
the review of the Polytechnic Act and poor funding of polytechnics
among other demands.
The ASUP President said that despite giving the
government enough time when it came on board last year to settle down
and address all pending issues, the present administration has showed no
concern about the plight of lecturers, whose salaries were being
reduced or owed in most federal and state polytechnics.