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Members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics in Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki, Oyo State, on Monday said they would not go back to work unless the outstanding salaries and allowances owed them were paid.
The lecturers dared the Governing Council of the institution which had threatened to sanction any worker who failed to resume for duty and sign the attendance register.
The council at an emergency meeting on Thursday, decided to suspend the activities of ASUP at the institution. It also directed that all academic activities should resume immediately.
But the striking lecturers staged another protest at the polytechnic on Monday, refusing to sign the attendance register and saying that “the purported suspension of the activities of the union is unconstitutional, illegal, null and void.”
A statement jointly signed by the chairman of the union, Muyiwa Olawumi, and the secretary, Sikiru Isiak, said “the council’s action is outdated, humiliating, degrading, archaic, ex-communicating, barbaric, embarrassing, dictatorial, provocative and undemocratic.”
It said further: “The council’s action of coercing lecturers to resume was uncalled for when the negotiation window as contained in its (union) response to the purported Memorandum of Understanding had not been exhausted. The council cannot go outside its statute to usurp the power vested in the Registrar of Trade Unions under Trade Union Act.
“We demand the outright payment of all outstanding arrears, 10 months unremitted cooperative deductions and seven months of full salary. Our patience and sacrifice have been stretched beyond limit.”