We Will Resume Strike, If Arrears Are Not Paid – Oyo Tertiary Institution Workers Threaten

State Government Given Twenty-One days To pay Full salaries (Photo File)

Oyo Tertiary Institution Workers Give State Government 21 Days To Honour Requests

Workers of six Oyo owned tertiary institutions have revolted, giving a 21-day ultimatum to the state government to attend to full salaries and poor funding of the institutions, or risk resumption of suspended strike.

Among the institutions are the Polytechnic, Ibadan; Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo; Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora; The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa; The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki; and College of Education, Lanlate  who went on strike for several months over the non-payment of their salary arrears and reduction of government subvention to the schools to 25 per cent.

The institutions resumed academic activities after reaching an agreement with the government in January.

In a communiqué released by workers’ unions in the institutions after a meeting of the Joint Action Committee, they noted that the state government had failed to honour an agreement reached between both parties on January 31, 2018.

“Despite the position of government that the governing councils were constituted to resolve the issue of factional salary payment and the payment of salary arrears of between eight and 24 months, the issues remain the same. Not all the institutions have paid full salaries to their staff till date. No council has come up with a template for the payment of the accrued salary arrears.

The communiqué, which was signed by leaders of the unions in all the schools, also said the ultimatum began on May 25, 2018. According to the leaders of the union, the meeting was conveyed to review the situation in the institutions four months after the agreement was signed.

In another part it read, “The issue of poor funding of the schools by the government has compounded problems in the institutions. The meeting finally resolved to give government 21 working days ultimatum to pay all accrued arrears failing which all staff of the institutions will resume their suspended strike until these arrears of eight to 24 months are fully paid.”