ASUP suspends industrial action at Auchi Polytechnic

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at Auchi Polytechnic said it had suspended planned industrial action in connection with the new service regulations.

The chairman of the association, Mr. Bamidele Osamudiamen, stated this yesterday at an extraordinary congress of the union in Auchi.

He said the suspension was in line with the directive of the union’s national body.

He said the decision was taken by the national body after the federal government agreed to suspend the implementation of the new roster because the union found it deficient.

It should be recalled that the Auchi Polytechnic chapter of ASUP had given the government a 15-day ultimatum to suspend the service delivery programme.

The chapter also launched a series of protests to express its displeasure with the controversial document.

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Osamudiamen had condemned the document because he believed it promoted discriminatory practices that favored university graduates over higher education graduates in the country.

He said: “The unfair career policies in this sector, particularly with regard to teaching and non-teaching staff cadres, are a recipe for crisis as they are disproportionate to the remuneration to which the cadres are entitled.”

“The controversial document, in a strange, unjustified and unacceptable way, extends the career levels of the teaching cadre from seven to nine levels and at the same time provides for an additional year for advancement to the last two levels.

“This means that everyone in the teaching cadre, from the basic level to the highest level, must now persevere for at least 26 years.

“This is unacceptable, particularly given that this deviates from the norm in other sub-sectors and the retirement age in the sector remains unchanged.

“We are prepared to take industrial action if the government does not take the necessary steps to reverse this system and we are prepared for it.”