We’re tired of the same pay structure for 12 years, ASUP tells federal and state governments

Polytechnic professors nationwide expressed disappointment with the federal and state governments for leaving them on the pay structures they had had for 12 years, saying they were fed up with the situation.

They also accused the two levels of government of always paying lip service to the education sector from primary to tertiary, saying such an attitude would continue to thwart the progress of Nigeria and its people.

The chairman of their apex body, Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, gave these positions in an exclusive interview with Nigerian Tribune on Sunday.

According to him, polytechnic teachers have been on the same salary structures which have even been very reduced for 12 years and this situation is killing us.

He said the rising inflation which drives up the prices of goods and services every day in the country coupled with the devaluation of the naira has made the real value of their monthly salary completely absurd.

According to him, our net monthly salary is getting us nowhere as the naira was devalued to 250% or more of its value 12 years ago, making it difficult for us to survive.

According to him, the expectation of the ASUP on the part of the government in this new year is to complete, in particular during this first quarter, the renegotiation of their last agreement concluded in 2010 by revising upwards the terms and conditions of their services and to start implementing them without delay.

While noting that so far the Federal Government has failed to release the revitalization funds and also around N5 billion in minimum wage arrears owed to Federal Polytechnic Professors nationwide several months after the approval, the ASUP boss explained that the condition of state-owned polytechnic workers was worse.

He said only two of the federation’s 36 states enforce minimum wage for their polytechnic workers, while the others are not many years after the policy became law.

He said the major problem with people in the corridors of power is not lack of money but because they lack the political will to invest significantly in the education sector.

He said the government at both the federal and state levels should prioritize this year by stopping spending on what he called frivolities and giving deserved attention to education, saying that it is the only way for Nigeria to achieve true economic prosperity.

He said that while ASUP always engages in industrial action as a last resort, it will continue its fight this year with the government to see that things are put in the right perspective for the good of polytechnic education and of the country’s economy.

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