The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has served the Federal Government of Nigeria with a 21-day notice of strike.
This notice was made public by the union’s president, Shammah Kpanja, after ASUP’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja.
Kpanja said ASUP’s decision on the industrial action followed a litany of unmet demands by the Federal Government.
He said the union had listed 13 demands that needed to be addressed within the 21-day notice to avoid the closure of polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide.
“A failure to utilise this window may lead to the declaration of a trade dispute and withdrawal of services of our members across public polytechnics and monotechnics nationwide,” Kpanja said.
The union in its demands had called for the release of a circular by the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) to cover the peculiar academic allowance; non-release of arrears of the 25/35 per cent salary review/non-implementation in state-owned polytechnics and delay in granting a dual mandate structure for polytechnics; non-release of the second round of NEEDS ASSESSMENT intervention among others.
It also demanded the release of promotion arrears and non-implementation of promotion owed its members across the state-owned institutions among many others.
ASUP president stated that should the Federal Government fail to meet these demands, the union would be left with no option but to embark on strike action.