Lagos State government has filed
a motion on notice for interlocutory injunction before the National Industrial
Court sitting in Lagos to restrain the staff unions of Lagos State Polytechnic
(Laspotech) from embarking on another strike action.
The state government also
directed the striking workers to return to work immediately.
Special Adviser to Governor
Akinwunmi Ambode on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh, in a statement on
Friday, said the originating processes and motion on notice for interlocutory injunction
have been served on the three unions including the Academic Staff Union of
Polytechnics (ASUP), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP)
and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU).
He said the government, since
October 2016, has actively engaged and held discussions with the three unions
based on their request that the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary
Structure (CONTISS) 15 Migration Scheme, developed in 2009 by the National
Board for Technical Education (NBTE), be implemented with payment of the
accruing 87 months’ arrears, computed to the tune of N1.7billion.
According to him, in the
intervening months since the matter was first brought to the attention of the
government, deliberations have been carried out through the Governing Council
of the school and related MDAs specifically Ministries of Establishment,
Training & Pension, Public Service Office (PSO), and Economic Planning
& Budget in order to ensure that the matter was properly addressed.
Bank-Olemoh added that the State’s
Ministry of Education also reached out to the NBTE to ascertain the exact
provisions and mandate of the CONTISS 15 SALARY Migration Scheme noting that
the response was that the demands of the unions were not in line with the
provisions set out by the NBTE in 2009.
He wondered that despite the fact
that a copy of the report, dated July 14th, 2017, was sent to the Governing
Council of Lagos State Polytechnic and circulated among the three Staff Unions,
they had maintained their stance in asking for payment in arrears from 2009,
called for a strike called for a strike.
Besides, Bank-Olemoh said
the government was committed to entrenching stability in the State’s tertiary
institutions and that regardless of the ongoing economic challenges across the
country, the it has continued to prioritize the funding and carrying out major
infrastructural projects at State tertiary institutions in the past year, and
recently increasing monthly subventions of all State institutions, with no
arrears owed.
He however appealed to the three
Staff Unions of Lagos State Polytechnic to apply fair judgment and consider the
students of the institution, particularly those in their final year who would
be adversely affected if they are not allowed to take their final exams.
“All members of Staff and
Students are further advised to continue with their lawful activities on and
off campus, as the State Government will continue to pursue all necessary steps
to ensure peace, stability and security in the Polytechnic.
”In this regard, all staff
are hereby directed to resume work without further delay, while the management
should monitor compliance and report same to the Ministry of Education,”
Bank-Olemoh said.
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