MAPOLY lecturers threaten strike over unpaid salaries

Lecturers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, MAPOLY Chapter Abeokuta have threatened to embark on strike action over their unpaid salaries and allowance.

The lectures vowed to go on strike from January 2, 2021, if their demands are not met by both the management of the school and the Ogun State Government.

They disclosed this in a communique dated December 21, 2020, after an emergency congress, claiming that it had not been paid salaries for five months.

The union also accused the management of the school of not paying its members’ “honoraria for the part-time classes/lectures they held for five consecutive semesters” and not promoting members for four years.

The communique signed by the Chairman of the Union, Babatunde Osifalujo, and the Secretary, Tomisi Adegunle, read in part, “The emergency Congress of our union on December 21, 2020, to deliberate on pressing issues affecting the welfare of our members. The congress observed as follows:

“The apparent indifference of the management to our members’ well being. This is exemplified in the disdain the union’s correspondences are treated. The union’s correspondences are not even acknowledged not to talk of addressing the issues therein.

“Non-payment of the salaries and allowances of our members for five months running. The untold hardship the non-payment of salaries and allowance had brought upon our members;

“The nonchalant attitude of the management to issues of outstanding promotion of our members for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, thereby denying our members of their deserving career growth for four years;

“Non-payment of honoraria for part-time classes/lectures deliveries for five semesters”.

The Union however attributed the problem to the failure of the State government to appoint a governing council for the school.

It said, “The vacuum has been created as a result of the absence of the governing council for a long time. This has resulted in not addressing, on time, the issues of staff promotion and appointments, staff welfare, and the appointment of a substantive Rector for the Polytechnic.”

The union demanded that the long-overdue 2017 promotion and appointments must be completed with the staff concerned receiving their letters not later than 31st December, 2020.

It also said that the management should immediately come out with a road map for 2021 detailing the polytechnic expected Income and sources of financing its deficit.