Academic, Non Academic Staff In Oyo State-owned Tertiary Institutions Embark On Warning Strike

By Ayodele Oni

Academic and Non-academic staff under the aegis of Joint Action Committee, (JAC) of Trade Unions Oyo State-owned tertiary institutions, commence three days warning strike on Wednesday.

To be affected by the strike are: The Polytechnic Ibadan, The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic (TOPS) Saki, Adeseun Ogundoyin Polytechnic (AOP) Eruwa, Oyo State College of Education (OYSCOED) Lanlate, and Oyo State College of Agricultural Technology (OYSCATECH) Igboora.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Trade Unions, comprising the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) satud the strike was necesitated by refusal of Oyo state government to meet their demands.

In a statement signed by JAC Secretary, Akin Adekanbi, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the workers’ unions noted that the three-day warning strike was promted by exhaustive discussions and numerous deadlines issued to the Oyo State Government through the Ministry of Education, noting that no substantive resolutions have been achieved.

We demand the immediate implementation of this 25/35% increment and the payment of arrears from January 2023. 2. Platinum Consultant: The Platinum Consultant’s activities have turned into a financial burden, siphoning off 10% of internally generated revenue from our institutions. The money that should have been used for academic commitments is being deducted by the said consultant.

Among the demands, according to the statement are financial autonomy for the institutions, stoppage if salary augmentation by the institutions and shortage of manpower and workers casualization.

“Financial autonomy had been eroded from the institutions against best practices making the system inefficient and ineffective in meeting the demand of an educational institution.

“This practice must end immediately. Notably, all universities in the state – Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo and Abiola Ajimobi First Technical University, Ibadan were exempted from this arrangement highlighting discriminatory practices against the Polytechnic and College of Education in the state.

“Salary Augmentation: The current salary augmentation policy is unsustainable and detrimental to effective service delivery of our institutions.

“Schools are using a substantial proportion of their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to augment the salary of staff making it difficult to meet essential services and demands of academic institutions.

“Oyo State Government should provide full subvention to end this debilitating practice.

“Shortage of Manpower and Casualization of Workers: There is a critical shortage of both teaching and non-teaching staff within our institutions, with many departments functioning with minimal academic staff of between 1 and 3 staff.

“Our Polytechnics and Colleges of Education now rely heavily on Casual staff for teaching and administrative functions.

“Some of these casual staff tagged Teaching Assistants have spent many years contributing their efforts, energy and academic qualifications to teaching, accreditations and rating of our institutions.

“These casual staff across the institutions should be regularized as permanent employees to ensure dedication and improved service delivery in line with the requirements of regulatory bodies.

“The stagnated non-academic staff, Cleaners and Gardeners, at OYSCOED, Lanlate for many years past should be regularized

“Governing Councils: The non-constitution and irregular tenure of Governing Councils about a year since they were dissolved are hindering policy decisions and promotions in our institutions.

“Immediate action is required to constitute these councils with immediate effect for the efficient running and management of our institutions.

“Salary Arrears: The non-payment of salary arrears for 2018/2019 in OYSCOED, Lanlate, OYSCATECH, Igboora and EAUED, Oyo is exacerbating the financial hardship of staff. These arrears must be settled without further delay.”