Polytechnic workers begin strike Jan. 14

Polytechnic workers under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) on Thursday said it has resolved to embark on a 14-day strike starting from January 14, 2021

Polytechnic workers under the aegis of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) on Thursday said it has resolved to embark on a 14-day strike starting from January 14, 2021, if the federal and state governments failed to implement the NEEDS assessment report and release funds for the polytechnics as it had been doIing for the university.

The workers, who stated this immediately after its 62nd regular meeting of the General Executive Council in Abuja, also demanded the release of the scheme of service for the polytechnics, which it said had been put on hold by the National Board for Technical Education for three years without any explanation.

Speaking during the meeting, SSANIP President, Philip Ogunsipe, lamented non-payment of full salaries and arrears of minimum wage to polytechnic workers.

According to him, it was sad that the governors of Cross River, Benue, Abia, Ondo, Ogun, Osun and Kano States have not paid outstanding salaries, adding that the union further demanded the constitution of the governing councils in all federal and state polytechnics.

He stated, “We have a government that cares less whether students are locked away from their various institutions and wasting away valuable time of their lives. We have a government that seems not to understand any language even when you are pleading for what naturally you should take for granted as done.

“Having considered everything before us, the union resolves at the end of this meeting that we are embarking on 14-day strike in the first instance commencing on Monday, 14 January 2021, after which we would come back and assess it.

“If the only way and the only system and process that would ensure that things are properly done in the polytechnic system is to shut down, thereafter, we would not hesitate to do so.”

The union blamed the inaction of both the federal and state governments for the planned industrial action.

SSANIP President also called for the investigation of the Rector, Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, for a reason he didn’t disclose to newsmen.

He accused the government of turning a deaf ear to the demands of the union, which he said had lingered over the years.