The Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, SSANIP, and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, Lagos State Polytechnic Chapter at its Ikorodu Campus, has described the directive by the school management that all staff of the institution should resume back to work and register their presence at designated areas around the campus as Contempt of Court, since the matter is already in court.
The non-payment of one year arrears of CONTIS 15 Migration by the management of the school has plunged the best State-owned State Polytechnic in Nigeria into frequent strike actions, and inadvertently disrupting its academic calendar for almost one year now.
The Union members gathered on the campus on Monday, August 7th, 2017, to protest the latest directive issued by the management of the school. Some of the workers were seen on uniform white T-Shirts, bearing messages like ‘CONTIS 15 PAYMENT IS SACROSANT’ to press home the demand for the payment of their arrears. Some other messages displayed demanded the removal of the Rector of the institution; Mr Samuel Sogunro, by the State Governor; Mr Akinwumi Ambode.
Speaking to our Correspondent on development, Vice Chairman of SSANIP LASPOTECH Chapter, Mr Ero Phillip, said as far as the case was in court, neither of the parties can enforce any directive at the moment. “The directive is an illegal order, the court has thrown out the request of management for experte’, and has asked them to put the Unions on notice and they have done that, so until the court decides, nobody has the right to force any other party to do anything whatsoever, he stated”.
Mr Phillip, further added that the case is subjudized, and that the school management should obey the court order it was served when it dragged the Unions to court.
The National Board for Technical Education, NBTE, in 2009, had rolled out improved salary scale for improved welfare of Polytechnic lecturers in the country, an implementation of which has brewed crisis in the tertiary institution.
Hearing on the case brought against the staff unions by the LASPOTECH management has been scheduled for next week Tuesday, August 15th at a Lagos Industrial Court.
