The Rector of the Polytechnic said the management of the school was aware of the strike and he appealed to striking workers to review their decision and return to work.
The Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, in Bayelsa State, has been shut down indefinitely as workers of the institution on Monday began a strike action over persistent shortfall in their salaries.
Speaking with journalists on Monday in Yenagoa, Mr Charles Amgbari, Chairman, Academic Staff Unions of Polytechnics, said the strike commenced at midnight on Sunday, July 7.
Amgbari explained that he was responsible for the decision to embark on the strike alongside the Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, Mr Charles Wiilabo and the Chairman of the Non Academic Staff Union, Mr Nelson Ebimie, at their Joint Union meeting held on July 5 2019,.
He said, “This is the outcome of our congress on July 5, and all the unions agreed to embark on an indefinite strike action, starting from Monday; that is by 12 midnight on Sunday.
He said, “The key resolution was a total shutdown of the system with immediate effect until the full salaries of workers and Presidential Initiative on Continues Auditing are paid.
“We have set up a 15-man monitoring team, with five people from each of the three unions to ensure total compliance of members.
“We have suffered a decrease in salary since 2015. A lot of verification exercises have been carried out, but to no avail.
“We urge the Federal government to intervene in this matter. We want the IPPS that is in charge of Federal Government workers’ salaries to visit our school for proper data capturing in order to alleviate the suffering of workers in the polytechnic.
The NASUP chairman and his SSANP counterpart called on the Federal Government to facilitate a proper data capturing for the staff of the institution to resolve the matter.
“What we are only asking is our salaries and nothing more. The shortfall should be adjusted without any further delay,” they said.
Reacting to the development, the Rector of the Polytechnic, Dr Seiyaboh Idah, said the management of the school was aware of the strike and he appealed to striking workers to review their decision and return to work.
“Yes, this shortfall in salary started before I assumed office in August 2016. This is one of the challenges I inherited but immediately I came on board I took up the challenge.
“We have made several presentation and visit to ministry of budget, finance, National Assembly among others.
“The reason is that our actual proposal that can pay 100 per cent of the salary have not been releasing to us; that is the reason behind the shortfalls.”