Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has accused the federal government of shortchanging its members with significant reduction in their take home pay and using Nigeria polytechnics as guinea pigs to test run anti people policies in the Education sector.
According to a release signed by ASUP’s National Publicity, Chris Nkoro, personal emoluments contained in the budget have been slashed to the extent of the removal of all earned allowances of teaching staff of Nigerian Polytechnics and Monotechnics contrary to the agreement signed and being implemented since 2010.
“Revelations from the 2016 Budget show a total reversal of the gains contained in both the 2010 agreement and the 2013/ 2014 struggles of the Union. The CONTISS 15 salary structure implementation has equally been discontinued in the budget while there is no evidence in the budget to suggest that the findings of the Needs Assessment report are to be implemented. Already, staffs have been shortchanged in the January 2016 salary with significant reduction in take home pay through allocation of salaries’ alien to the sector. This is despite worrying reports of N10 billion padding in the budget for Education.
“It is unfortunate that allocation to a library in the Presidency is more than the allocation to libraries in all federal polytechnics put together.”
While lamenting the cost of Polytechnics as it is grossly inadequate and does not capture the approved salary structure, ASUP demanded total implementation of the agreed salary structure for academic staff with the earned and other negotiated allowances.
The Union further demanded a refund of the shortfall in the personnel emolument of staff of Nigeria Polytechnic in the January salaries, including an upward review of the allocation for capital projects in Polytechnics as to commence the reversal of infrastructure deficit.
It urged the federal government to ensure that industrial peace is sustained in the Polytechnics sector by reviewing the budget for the sector as well as acceding to the aforementioned demands.
