Poly workers protest non-payment of 11 months salary arrears

The non-teaching staff of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State, on Wednesday, protested against the non-payment of their 11 months salaries.

They organised the protest under the aegis of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP).

They sang solidarity songs and marched to the Administrative Block of the institution to convey their grievances to the polytechnic management.

Addressing newsmen at the end of the event, the Chairman of SSANIP, Nafiu Okoro, said that the Governing Council of the institution should be held responsible for the infrastructure decay in the polytechnic.

Okoro said that the workers were working but were hungry due to the insensitivity of the management to their complaints for the payment of their salaries and emoluments.

He further said that the polytechnic workers had been on irregular salary payment for over eight years.

According to him, the two unions have decided to take the bull by the horn by embarking on an indefinite strike, starting from Jan. 2, 2024, if all their salary arrears were not paid.

Okoro also appealed to the State Government to include the polytechnic workers in the N35,000 wage award to workers in the state.

He said that the workers no longer had confidence in the leadership of Dr Olubunmi Omoniyi-led Governing Council of the institution.

Okoro further said that it was pitiable and disturbing that the workers could not provide for their respective families due to financial constraints orchestrated by non-payment of their salaries.

He said that the two unions in the institution had lost many of their members because they could not access basic things to sustain

themselves and their families.

He urged the state to release funds to the school’s management to offset their salary arrears, saying that the Government should be sensitive to the plight of the polytechnic workers.

Okoro said that the union was happy that the polytechnic had been approved for upgrading to a university.

He appealed to the State Government to ensure that the polytechnic workers also transitioned to the university workers.

Reacting to the protest, the Public Relations Officer of the polytechnic, Mr Samuel Ojo, said that unions had the right to protest to show their grievances.

Ojo, however, asked the protesters to give more room for negotiations between them and the management.