Why Abia poly axed 258 staff

Tension between the management of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba and its workers flared lately following a verification exercise that saw the termination of the employment of 258 staff members. A lecturer who sought anonymity said the situation was proving more contentious and difficult than expected because the outcome of the exercise was claimed to have […]

Tension between the management of Abia State Polytechnic, Aba and its workers flared lately following a verification exercise that saw the termination of the employment of 258 staff members.

A lecturer who sought anonymity said the situation was proving more contentious and difficult than expected because the outcome of the exercise was claimed to have served the interest of some people and was allegedly disadvantageous to a group of workers. It was alleged that the authorities either compromised on quality or politicized the exercise.

But the management said in a statement that the exercise was not influenced by personal feelings.

“Following painstaking verification and reviews, letters have been issued to 258 staff members whose services are no longer required by the institution.

“All affected workers are receiving full severance payment in line with their conditions of service with the school. They will also receive due outstanding salaries as workers are being paid,” a statement by the management said.

Already, concerned employees and their families have appealed to the polytechnic and state authorities to rethink the sack of 258 workers and possibly recall them.

The polytechnic is believed to be struggling with high and unsustainable wage bill with a reduced IGR occasioned by dwindling student population according to the source who also said that would have been one of the grounds for the retrenchment.

Another source said the management resolved to cut the number of employees because the salary bill was huge and was getting difficult to control in the face of scarce resources.

The source said inadequate funding had seriously hindered activities in the past but that the management could now keep a close eye on costs.

“The truth still remains that it is illogical to have over 800 non-teaching staff with just about 300 plus academic staff in an educational institution,” he said.

The source said prior to the exercise, there were 65 security personnel manning two gates of the polytechnic, which is a non-residential institution and as many as 32 workers allegedly secured employment with fake certificates.

“Records of the polytechnic disclosed that 96 workers obtained First School Leaving Certificate at below the age of 8 years,” he said.

The Rector, Professor Ezionye Eboh,  expressed concern over the future of the institution with dwindling revenues.

He said committees and review committees set up to ascertain staff disposition ‘clinically and dispassionately’ recommended that about 323 employees be rationalised.  He disclosed that those disengaged were employees with age related issues, severe disciplinary actions, health challenges, redundancy and other negative work ethics while those that have attained retirement age will also go.

He said non-academic staff will take the lion’s share in the rationalization exercise.

He however, announced that all the affected staff would get their payment in lieu of notice, adding that their other entitlements would be paid to them in due course.

However, the Abia State council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had at a meeting demanded the immediate withdrawal of letters of termination of appointment issued to the staff of the institution by the management.

Meanwhile there are indications that the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Abia State Polytechnic chapter, are set for a showdown with the management over salary arrears.

In a statement issued in Aba at the end of a joint congress, SSANIP and NASU gave the management two weeks to pay the workers their 16 months’ arrears of salaries.

The unions agreed to embark on an indefinite strike to press home their demands should the management fail to address the issues affecting the staff after the ultimatum.

A release signed by Comrades Aforole Nnenna and Emmanuel Eze, NASU chairperson and secretary respectively, as well as Comrade Nwachukwu Chuks, SSANIP chairman and Comrade Ugbaja Fred, SSANIP secretary, said the unions also asked the management to shelve any planned restructuring/downsizing of staff until all salaries were fully paid and all issues relating thereto discussed and agreed upon by all stakeholders.

The unions also demanded that all outstanding promotions from 2016-2018 be released, pointing out also that 2015 promotions released must also be given.

A former Commissioner for Education, Professor Ikechi Mgboji, said the state government did not pay workers of the institution, or give monthly subventions to augment its revenues.

Abia Poly is allowed to collect revenue, including school fees, and use same to pay salaries of workers and maintain the school.