12months Unpaid salaries: We’ve been turned to beggars —Ondo Tertiary institutions Workers tell Akeredolu
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Workers of the Ondo State owned tertiary institutions have decried nonpayment of their salaries ranges from four to 12months by the state government as a result of poor funding of the institutions, thereby making them to beg to feed their families.
The workers spoke at a news briefing in Akure under the umbrella of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Ondo State owned Tertiary Institutions comprising of National Association of Academic Technologies (NAAT), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) from the four Tertiary Institutions owned by Ondo State government, namely: Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo.
Speaking with newsmen through Comrade Tayo Ogungbeni, Chairman, JAC-ODSTI, urged Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to immediately increase monthly subvention to all the tertiary institutions in the state since education is a social service and immediate payment of the new minimum wage to our members.
Below is the full text of the press statement;
PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE (JAC) OF NAAT, NASU, SSANIP AND SSANU OF THE ONDO STATE OWNED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS HELD ON TUESDAY, 19TH JULY, 2022 AT THE NLC SECRETARIAT, AKURE.
Gentlemen of the press, it is with dissatisfaction, pain and disappointment that we, the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Ondo State owned Tertiary Institutions comprising of National Association of Academic Technologies (NAAT), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) from the four Tertiary Institutions owned by Ondo State government, namely: Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo hereby state that we can no longer cope with hardship we are going through due to the failure of our proprietor, the Governor of Ondo State to ensure our welfare as expected. This failure has created untold hardship and untimely death among our members as enumerated below:
*(1). MONTHLY SUBVENTION/FUNDING OF THE STATE OWNED TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS.*
Gentlemen of the Press, the most important of our challenges as state institutions is poor funding since the advent of this present administration in the state. The truth must be said, funding of our institutions was better off during the the immediate past administration. During this time, grants for capital projects and subventions were released as at and when due unlike what we are presently experiencing. For instance, it was during the past administration that the unique and gigantic Senate Building at AAUA was built with several roads constructed but all are now things of the past. It is on record that no capital grants has been released to some of the tertiary institutions in Ondo State since 2018. It is also on record that instead of increasing the monthly subventions to all the tertiary institutions in the state, the present administration reduced it drastically and this has been causing serious problems for the running of the institutions.
Gentlemen of the press, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko is presently on monthly wage bill of about #300M whereas it has been receiving a paltry sum of #148M as monthly subvention compared to a monthly subvention of #212M being released by the immediate past Administration. The reduction in the subventions affected all the tertiary institutions in the state and no concrete reason was given for taking such decision.
Today, our tertiary institutions are owing staff several outstanding salaries ranging between 4 to 12 months in arrears. The worst of the these institutions is Rufus Giwa polytechnic, Owo with outstanding salary arrears of 12 months.
(2). NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF 2009 FGN/UNIONS AGREEMENTS.
It is no longer a news that the FGN and the various Unions in tertiary institutions had an agreement on some issues that will ensure good welfare of the staff among other things but it is very unfortunate that 13 years after the said agreement, Ondo State government has not implemented up to 50% of the agreement as at today.
Gentlemen of the press, kindly recall that in October, 2012, our Unions leadership in AAUA and RUGIPO led the agitations for the implementation of the FGN/Unions agreement but instead of implementing the agreements, the immediate past administration in the State summarily dismissed 60 staff from AAUA and 37 from RUGIPO for demanding for their rights. For four and half years, these comrades were sacked until the present administration of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu reinstated them in year 2017.
We want to thank our amiable Governor for such a gesture, however, despite the directive that all their entitlements should be paid for the periods they were sacked, we want to inform our Governor that nothing has been done in that direction up till now.
(3) PAYMENT OF OUTSTANDING EARNED ALLOWANCES.
One of the components of the 2009 FGN/UNIONS Agreement was the payment of Earned Allowances to all categories of staff as approved by the FGN but it will interest you to note that many of the institutions have not started paying these allowances and where it was paid, it was paid preferentially without recourse to the agreement.
As we speak, AAUA Management is owing our members outstanding Earned Allowances for 10 years, that is, 2009 to 2018. Some of the institutions are yet to implement the payment of Responsibility Allowance, Excess Workload Allowance etc as at today.
(4). NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE FOR OUR MEMBERS.
It is very unfortunate to inform Nigerians that over 3 years after the National Minimum Wage of #30,000 had been approved for the Nigerian workers, and over 2 years of its implementation to the other civil servants in Ondo State, it has not been implemented for our members in tertiary institutions. Are we not part of the Nigeria workforce? Do we patronize a different market from other civil servants? Do we have different schools for our children? Why is our employer turning us to second class citizens in our own state? What have we done wrong to deserve this unwarranted treatments? These are the questions we will love Ondo State Government to answer. It is very ironical that Ondo State which is an Oil Producing State is the only state in the entire south west that can’t implement the new minimum wage for her workers in the tertiary institutions. What is wrong?.
(5). NON-RELEASE OF CMS AND UNIONS DEDUCTIONS.
Arising from insufficient subvention released to the tertiary institutions in Ondo State, the Management of some of these institutions are now robbing Peter to pay Paul. They are now using our deductions to pay our salaries. For instance, AAUA is owing the various CMS in the University over #400M deductions spanning over 22 months of unremitted deductions. The sad implications of this action, is the untimely death of our members. Some staff who are on drugs could not avoid to buy them any longer.
The CMS that supposed to bring succour to the workers could no longer perform its responsibility anymore and some of them are already in comatose state. We are saving our hard earned resources to better our lives but it is being withheld. Our Governor should kindly save our souls from this unpalatable plight.
(6). NON-PAYMENT OF RETIREMENT BENEFITS TO OUR RETIRED MEMBERS.
Gentlemen of the press, the joy of every worker is to retire peacefully and enjoy the fruits of his/her labour but contrary is the case with our retired members in Ondo State Tertiary Institutions. Many of them that retired over 10 years ago could not access their retirement benefits. This is ungodly and bad because the Holy Book says that the labourer deserves his/her wages. The attention of our own Arakunrin, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu is seriously needed so that these senior citizens would not die unfulfilled.
(7). USURPATION OF HEADSHIP OF NON-TEACHING SCHEDULES.
It is now a practice in most our tertiary institutions to appoint academic to head the non-teaching schedules, hence, short changing our members from rising to the pinnacle of their careers. This practice needs to stop immediately.
(8). OUR STAND ON THE ON-GOING NATIONAL STRIKE.
We wish to reiterate our support and commitment to the JAC led national strike and we wish to inform you all that we are part of the struggle as state institutions because majority of the issues in contention affected us as state institutions and resolving them will be to our advantage and betterment of the state institution especially universities.
We are also condemning vehemently any tactics of divide and rule that the Federal Government and its Re-negotiation Committee may want to deploy to decimate the Non-Teaching Unions on the on-going Re-negotiation of 2009 FGN/Unions Agreement. We shall resist any preferential treatment to be given to any University Based Union(s)
(9). NEED TO ENSURE ADEQUATE SECURITY OF LIVES AND PROPERTY.
We wish to condemn the unwarranted attack and killing of over 40 innocent souls at St Francis Catholic Church, Owo on 5th June, 2022. We commiserate with the Governor, Owo community, Catholic Diocese of Ondo, the entire Christan community and the families of those involved in the gruesome killing.. We call on the State Governor to ensure that adequate security is provided for all our campuses and every part of the state to avoid recurrence of the unwarranted attack.
(10) CONSTITUTION OF GOVERNING COUNCILS
We are using this opportunity to remind our action Governor that none of the institutions is having a Governing Council presently. We are appealing that instead of appointing political jobbers as Chairmen and members of our Governing Councils, intelligent and selfless personalities who are ready to contribute their personal resources to the development of our institutions should be appointed. This is necessary because bad leadership traits exhibited by some Governing Councils contributed immensely to the problems being experienced in many of our campuses today.
Base on the above, we are hereby making the following demands as a matter of urgency:
(1). Immediate increment in monthly subvention to all the tertiary institutions in the state since education is a social service.
(2). Immediate payment of the new minimum wage to our members.
(3). Payment of all our outstanding salaries and Earned Allowances.
(4). Release of bailout to the various institutions to pay all withheld deductions and retirement benefits of our retired members.
(5). Provide adequate security in and around the various campuses.
Gentlemen of the press, we are using this opportunity to appeal to all the good people of the state, our Royal Highnesses, our Religious leaders, APC leadership at both the state and national levels that their intervention is urgently needed to resolve all the identified problems once and for all. If the issues are not resolved on/before the end of the on-going national strike, we may be forced to declare industrial dispute with the state government and the Management of all our tertiary institutions in the State.
We appreciate the national leadership of our various Unions and other relevant stakeholders for their support so far. We are also grateful to the leadership of Ondo State Council of NLC for the unprecedented support given to us and finally, we are saying thank you to our brothers and sisters in the pen profession who have created time to attend this press conference.
Thank you all.
Comrade Tayo Ogungbeni,
Chairman, JAC-ODSTI.
