By Ovedhe Jerry
Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, (ASUP) and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnic, (SSANIP) Delta State Polytechnic Ozoro chapter has embarked on a 3days warning strike on vital issues affecting the welfare of it staffs.
In a statement made available to newsmen yesterday and signed by Thomas Ojuye, ASUP chairman and Comrade Victor Ossai, SSANIP president Delta State Polytechnic, Ozoro chapter, they said “the Unions in Delta State higher institutions, both polytechnics and colleges of education have been trying to have peaceful dialogue with the state government on pressing issues affecting the welfare of our members. But we have not been able to achieve any meaningful result.”
According to the statement, the strike is because of the following affecting issues include: “none payment of promotion arrears for the year 2014 and 2015, promotion of staffs from salary grade level 11-13, retirement of staffs who are at the age of 60, and migration”.
The statement explained that ” sometimes last year, july 31 2015, we received a circular from the state government that henceforth, the state government will not entertain payment of arrears that the management of every school should promote the staffs that are due for promotion as at when due. But government started implementing it in retrospect affecting the promotion of 2014 and 2015.
“If the government wants to implement any policy, we are not against it. The government should have implement it as at january this year. Those that were promoted before the letter came out are now being denied their promotion payment arrears. If the state is poor now due to the economic situation of the country, they should come out and tell us. But now they are denying the people sweat. So this is what we are against.”
The statement further added that, “staffs are being denied of their salary from grade level 11-13. This promotion is supposed to be for those who have professional qualifications, like ICAN, ANA,etc and administrative officers. But the state government is confused because they don’t know the due process to follow on this.”
Those who have professional qualifications that are supposed to be moved from one salary grade level to the other. When those in salary grade level 13 are moved to 14, those on 12 to 13. But they refuse to moved those on 11 to 12 because they felt that some people are jumping steps. Even the ones they have promoted are not properly done. Some of our members are even on our neck.”
While on retirement of staffs at the age of 60, they noted that, “before now we were not agitating for the retirement age of tertiary institution not until the 2012 harmonized retirement act of 2012 bill was passed into law for non teaching to be included into the law for the to retire at 65yrs old for both teaching and none teaching. While Professors to retired at 75.” Immediately the bill was passed, we both ASUP, SSANIP and other unions fought for the bill to accommodate our members. And it was granted, But to my greatest surprise as am talking to you now the one of Delta state has not been included. Even the immediate past state governor communicated to us in a circular through the ministry for higher education that the harmonization bill has passed. Even our sisters school DELSU, are through with this issue. Both non teaching and teaching staffs are retiring at 65 there.
“But to our greatest surprised we are not enjoying it. Our neighboring states owned schools are already enjoying it. As am talking to you now, over 25 non teaching staffs here have been retired at the age of 60, which is not supposed to be so. That’s why we held a conference last thursday in respect of this. This is why we are against it.”
On migration, they added that, “we discover that the position of the chief executive office salary in higher institution is not equivalent to that of the permanent secretaries in the state ministry. Even when you look at the nearest to it in the ministry is above that of the chief executive officer in the tertiary institutions. This is not supposed to be.
“Unions argued that, the salary of the bursar is not even equivalent to that of the permanent secretaries in the ministry, not even the nearest”.
The unions however threatened to go on indefinite strike if the state government does not meet their demands, saying that “we are still waiting on the state government to attend to us, if they fail to call us for peaceful dialogue then we will go on an indefinite strike.”
