The Academic Staff Union of Borno state owned polytechnic, Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri has embarked on indefinite strike action with effect from Monday.
The ASUP Chairman , Comrade Baba Shuwa at a news conference in Maiduguri informed that the union took the decision after due consultative meetings with all the relevant stakeholders including those affected by the strike like the academic and non-academic staff of the school, the senior staff of the school which all decided to embark on an indefinite strike action so as to press home their demands from the state government.
According to him, the strike became necessary despite the payment of April 2017 salary to all those verified and cleared because their demands were still not met by the state Government, adding that all negotiations and warnings have failed.
The demands he mentioned include the issue of academic staff retirement age of 65 years and non-academic staff at 60 years or 35 years of meritorious service as obtained in other institutions.
Others include the issue of non-payment of salaries of both academic and non-academic staff spanning to a period of 9-10 months despite been verified and cleared by the biometric data capturing committee, just as there are others whose salaries have been stopped by the committee.
The Chairman regretted that, “families of these staff who are our members are either dying or sick or starved for lack of food to feed their families or carry them to the hospitals for medical treatment or buy drugs for their children and wives.
“That is why, we decided we should go on strike despite the fact that we have earlier gone on warning strike before a technical committee headed by Bukar Adamu Biu, mni was constituted to negotiate with us and still until date no White paper was produced from our sittings or negotiations and nobody talked to us up till now about our position or the government stand on the matter,” the chairman said.
Speaking on the issue of students examinations, Comrade Baba said, “the unions are aware that most students are to commence their semester exams today Monday while only a few started their practicals last week, we have to go on strike finally and indefinitely to make the government address our problems.
“And we are not returning to the class for the students’ exams or lectures until the state Government meet up with our demands or we know our stand. We have been patient enough and we can no longer accommodate it,” he said.
He narrated how the union made some efforts to avoid students protest in solidarity for their strike.
“Last week Friday the Union leaders had to go round the Ramat poly mosques during the Congregational prayers to talk to the students not to protest as we gathered some students were planning to stage a protest to support our strike because an angry student can be hostile and uncontrollable that is why we spoke to them to allow us to handle the issues ourselves amicably if not, by now, the situation could have been different,” he explained.
Some students who spoke to journalists expressed their displeasure with the situation and urged the state governor to intervene immediately in order for them to return to school and continue with their exams and lectures.
While others called on the state Government as a matter of importance to listen to the Union leaders and address their problems in the interest of peace, unity and development of the state.
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