By Kolawole LANREWAJU & Gbenga AKINWUNNMI,
THE Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic, (ASUP), Moshood Abiola, Ogun State Chapter, on Thursday embarked on a ten-day sit-down strike to protest the non payment of its July salaries and allowances.

The union also frowned at the institution’s management for embarking on  a retreat worth N2.5milion while it failed to remit the over one year pension deductions and value added tax deductions from the staff’s salaries.

This was contained in a communiqué by the ASUP Chairman, Mr. Olawale Adetunji, issued shortly after an Emergency Congress in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Wednesday.

But the Polytechnic’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Yemi Ajibola, explained that the management was addressing the issue, “as I am talking to you now, the executives of the union are in a meeting with s2the management,” He said.

The communiqué reads in part, “A ten-day strike be commenced from Thursday August 12 to 21, after the expiration of the ten-days strike, the union shall convene to appraise the situation and take further necessary actions.”

Meanwhile members of the union had been warned not to participate in the institution’s Post UTME screening examinations for the prospective candidates, holding today (Saturday) and any other assignment by the management.

According to Adetunji, “this is Friday but if the money can be made available, we will constitute emergency congress but without that no member will carry out any official assignments.”

But the spokes man to the institution, Ajibola said, “The major issue is the July salary and that has been taken to the bank as I am speaking to you, but if the strike is not called off today, it will definitely be called off. I want to assure you that that will not in any way affect the examination tomorrow (today).”