Again ASUP Postpones Nationwide Strike, Urges FG To Address Issues

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has decided to delay its planned nationwide protest.

The union is urging the federal government to use this time wisely to show its commitment by effectively implementing the action plan that addresses the eleven key issues they have raised. If the government fails to do so, ASUP warns that it may withdraw its services completely.

This announcement was made by ASUP’s National President, Comrade Kpanja Shammah, in a statement released over the weekend. On October 7, ASUP had given a 15-day ultimatum to the owners of public polytechnics and colleges of technology after reviewing the current challenges in the sector during its 111th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.

The union had specified eleven demands from the government in its ultimatum. While announcing the postponement of the strike, ASUP stated, “Following the ultimatum, a resolution meeting of all stakeholders in the sector was convened by the Federal Ministry of Education to resolve the contentious issues on the 23rd of October 2024 in Abuja.”

During this meeting, stakeholders developed a resolution and an action plan to address the issues. These issues include the abuse of existing laws by some governing councils of federal polytechnics, staff welfare, the intrusion of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) into the responsibilities of Academic Boards regarding Higher National Diploma (HND) admissions, the need for infrastructure revitalization through intervention programs, and the non-implementation of promotions in state institutions.

ASUP also highlighted the need for the payment of all outstanding promotion arrears, the settlement of salary review arrears from January 2023 to December 2023 in federal polytechnics, and the implementation of the salary review in state institutions.

Other issues included the payment of outstanding CONTISS 15 migration arrears for lower-level staff, maintaining the 7% Peculiar Academic Allowance post-IPPS exit, renegotiating the 2010 FGN/ASUP agreement, and settling all outstanding third-party deductions.

The Union’s NEC held another emergency meeting on October 24, 2024, to review the proposed action plan from the stakeholder meeting and to discuss the next steps in their fight for the survival of polytechnic education in Nigeria.

After thorough discussions, the union decided to postpone its industrial action until December 2, 2024. This decision was made to give the government time to show its commitment to implementing the agreed action plan from the October 23 meeting.

ASUP expects the government to take this opportunity to address each of the eleven disputed items or face a complete withdrawal of services by academic staff in the Nigerian polytechnic system. The union also expressed gratitude for the support from the media and other stakeholders in their ongoing struggle.

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