FedPolyEde lecturers begin sit-in strike over withheld salary… as Rector 'goes on vacation'

Lecturers at the Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State, have begun a sit-in strike over the institution’s management’s failure to pay their salaries.

Students of the institution resumed for academic activities on Monday, 16th of March, 2015 but the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) had different plans.

gathered from a source at the institution who pleaded anonymity that the ASUP chapter of the institution met and they decided on a SIT-IN strike action.

The source said the lecturers are angry with the polytechnic’s management for failing to implement the ‘‘Consolidated Tertiary Institution Salary Structure for its members in the institution.

It is believed that something out of the ordinary is happening with regards to the funds meant for the payment of the salaried.

“It has been obtained from a reliable source that the cash has been deposited in the Management's account but they have refused to pay up the lecturers,” the source said.

“The lecturers have agreed on not attending classes until their demand has been met by the management.”

A College On Vacation

Matters were made worse the lecturers learnt that their Rector, Builder Patrick Hussain, is on vacation abroad.

“It was also obtained that the Rector of the school is currently out of the country for holiday and the lecturers have decided to enjoy their time in the cool of their offices too,”

The dissent is getting louder with each passing day.

“We cannot be working out our brains in the hot sun while some management will refuse to pay us,'' one of the ASUP officials who spoke with our source was quoted as saying.

Our source said things may get even worse because other unions may soon join the protest,

“Rumour has it that the senior and the non-academic staff of the institution have been told to have joined the strike action too,” he said.

Hussain: A Downhill Ride?

The sentiment amongst students of the institution is that things have taken a turn for the worse since the present management.

One of the students said decision making has been noticeably slow since the appointment of the new rector.

According to him, it is unprecedented to have 3 internal strikes within two academic years as has been witnessed under Oke’s leadership.

It will also be recalled that the polytechnic was originally supposed to resume for the present session on the 2nd of March, only for another date, 16, to be chosen on excuse that results were being audited.

“We hope that the school will be revived soon. Finalists hoping to obtain the Direct Entry Form into universities are still waiting and hoping the school calendar will favour them,” our source added.

Now, rumours of a students’ protest are looming in the institution and, if the management does nothing in time, it the institution may have a big problem in its hands.