MEMBERS of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) of the Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology (OAUSTECH), Okitipupa, Ondo State, have pleaded with the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to pay up their salary arrears.
Chairman of the OAUSTECH chapter of SSANU, Dayo Temola, who made the appeal in a statement on Friday, January 6, pleaded with the governor to extend workers’ welfare to tertiary institutions owned by the state.
Contrary to claims by Akeredolu that his administration has paid workers’ salaries to date, Temola stated that his union members were still being owed over five months’ salaries and 10 months’ deductions by the state government.
He also alleged that the government has failed to implement minimum wages for them, as well as earned allowances, among others.
“We are happy to hear that Ondo State Government had paid workers salaries up to date aside from paying the backlog owed by the previous administration,” he said.
“However, we the workers of tertiary institutions in Ondo State are wallowing in penury due to unpaid salaries, non-implementation of approved wages such as minimum wages, earned allowances and third-party deductions.
“We, therefore, use the medium to appeal to Governor Akeredolu to intervene, so that workers in tertiary institutions particularly Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa in Ondo State can smile like their counterparts in the other sector of the state.”
Workers of tertiary institutions across Nigeria’s South-West have seized the occasion of the New Year to demand the payment of their various salaries and allowances owed to them by various state governments in the region.
On Thursday, members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, protested the non-payment of their three months’ salaries, among other grievances.
The protesting workers demanded a take-over of the institution by the state government, following the failure of the management of the school to meet up with its mandate.
Similarly, on Friday, lecturers at the Ekiti State University (EKSU), threatened to cripple academic activities in the state-owned institution if nothing was done to offset their several months of unpaid salary arrears.
They lamented that they were being owned several salary arrears and unremitted cooperative deductions since 2015 till date.
The aggrieved lecturers gave the state government till January 17 act on the demand in order to avert a strike.
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