The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has postponed its planned nationwide industrial action until December 2, 2024, to provide the Federal Government with an opportunity to address its outstanding demands.
On October 7, 2024, ASUP issued a two-week ultimatum to the government, urging it to fulfill existing demands, some of which pertain to the alleged encroachment of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) into the statutory responsibilities of Academic Boards concerning Higher National Diploma (HND) student admissions.
Additional demands include the revitalization of infrastructure within the sector through the Needs Assessment intervention, the non-implementation of promotions in state institutions, the payment of all outstanding promotion arrears, and the settlement of unresolved salary review arrears of 25% and 35% from January 2023 to December 2023 in Federal Polytechnics and Colleges of Technology.
In a statement confirming the new date for the intended strike, ASUP noted that it had issued a mandatory 15-day ultimatum to the owners of public polytechnics and colleges of technology, following a review of the sector's current state during the 111th meeting of the Union's National Executive Council.
The ultimatum issued on October 7, 2024, contained eleven specific demands from the Union.
Subsequently, a resolution meeting involving all relevant stakeholders in the sector was convened by the Federal Ministry of Education on October 23, 2024, in Abuja. During this meeting, resolutions and an action plan were developed to address the contentious issues, which included instances of misconduct by some Governing Councils of Federal Polytechnics, along with various welfare considerations for academic staff.
Further issues included the NBTE's interference in the statutory responsibilities of Academic Boards regarding HND student admissions, the revitalization of infrastructure via the Needs Assessment intervention, the non-implementation of promotions in state institutions, and the payment of all outstanding promotion arrears and salary review arrears.
Additional concerns included the implementation of salary reviews in state institutions, the settlement of CONTISS 15 migration arrears for lower cadres, the ongoing disbursement of the 7% Peculiar Academic Allowance following the implementation of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUP agreement of 2010, and the payment of all outstanding third-party deductions.
In light of these developments, the Union's National Executive Council convened an emergency meeting on October 24, 2024, to assess the proposed action plan and to determine subsequent steps to safeguard the integrity of Polytechnic Education in Nigeria.
Following thorough deliberations, the Union resolved to defer the proposed industrial action until December 2, 2024. This decision was made to assess the government's commitment to implementing the agreed-upon action plan discussed during the meeting on October 23, 2024.
The Union expects that the government will utilize this intervening period to demonstrate its commitment by diligently executing the action plan addressing each of the eleven items of dispute or face the possibility of a comprehensive withdrawal of services by academic staff within the Nigerian Polytechnic System.
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