Ibadan Polytechnic Workers Begin Indefinite Strike Over Minimum Wage

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Workers of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, on Monday, commenced an indefinite strike action over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage approved by the Federal Government in 2019.

The workers’ unions comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (NASUP), announced the start of the strike at a joint congress in Ibadan.

The Chairman of SSANIP in the polytechnic, Biodun Abegunde, said the workers were forced to embark on the strike because the matter was beyond the school’s management and needed to be addressed urgently.

He added that the workers were demanding the implementation of the new minimum wage and the removal of a consultant in charge of the school finances to give room to financial autonomy for the institution.

Agegunde said: “The unions are agitating the implementation of the minimum wage and the removal of a consultant who has been handling and managing the financial affairs of the institution.

“This is a move towards financial autonomy. So the unions are clamouring for the removal of the consultant so that due process can be maintained by the institution.

“We want the institution to have powers to manage its affairs. The current mode of operation is affecting the smooth running and operation of the institution and the entire community of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, are not happy.

“We want the council of the institution to be the ones running the affairs of The Polytechnic, Ibadan.”