Panic in Akwa Poly as ASUP announces strike action over minimum wage

From Isaac Job, Uyo

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), alongside the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), have declared a strike at Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, causing tension among students and staff.

The Joint Council Unions cited the non-implementation of the ₦80,000 minimum wage and the exclusion of their input in the state’s salary tables (CONTEDISS, CONPCASS, CONTISS) as reasons for the action.

The unions, in a recent congress at the ASUP auditorium, demanded three to five domestic servants for staff on CONTEDISS 13–15/CONPCASS 07–09, separation of CONTEDISS from CONPCASS or adoption of CONPCASS, and implementation of 35% and 25% salary increments approved by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) on 14 September 2023. ASUP Chairman Nyeneime Victor Raphael criticised the state government for ignoring their concerns, despite letters sent through the Head of Service.

Raphael noted that on January 28, the unions rejected the state’s minimum wage tables for irregularities and communicated this to Governor Umo Eno, but received no response.

“We were not consulted, and our voices were ignored,” she said, noting the exclusion of tertiary education unions from wage negotiations.

The strike, effective immediately, disrupts academic activities, with students fearing delays in their academic calendar.