*SSANIP welfare my topmost priority- Chair

By Chioma Onuegbu Uyo

WORKERS at the Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, in Essien Udim Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, on Friday commenced commenced seven day warning strike to press home their demands.

They expressed disappointment over management’s poor handling of their demands which they listed to include non-payment of 38 percent balance of salary, non-payment of promotion arrears, among others.

The workers under the aegis of Senior Staffs Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, (SSANIP) protested round the school premises  on Friday, displaying placards and chanting solidarity songs after a brief congress held at  the institution’s TEFfund auditorium.

Rising from the congress, they matched straight to the Rector’s office, calling for full implementation of their demands.

Some of the placards displayed inscriptions such as ” SSANIP says no to unnecessary transfer of members, no to forceful conversion of staffs, “Pay us our 38% balance salary (2016–2018),  “Pay us our correct salary placement arrears (2015-2018)”

While addressing the protesters,  chairman of SSANIP, Federal Polytechnic, Ukana chapter Mr Tamunosiki Daka, said they were not out to fight anybody but to demand for their welfare.

His words, “Please let it be on record that, I the chairman of the SSANIP Federal Polytechnic, Ukana, is not fighting anybody, I was not elected to fight anybody, I was not elected to look into the affairs of anybody outside that of SSANIP.

“SSANIP welfare is my topmost priority. And how can we talk about welfare without them giving us our arrears of what they owing us?. Over the years from 2015 till date, we have been crying for salary shortfalls and they think we don’t know what we are doing.

“We made a case for this issue when the visitation panel came here and they promised to get back to us, but uptil date nothing has happened. We have met the management but they did not give any concrete reason for us not to go on this strike.

“And now congress said our ultimatum of 7 days says stands. Ad the rules of engagement is that before you embark on any industrial action, you must inform management 21 days, 14 days and 7 days of which we have done.

“We have been begging for the past six months. How would you tell me that appointing a teaching staff into the position of ICT is a right decision?’ By Monday no office will be opened in this place.We are going to shut down every office, including that of the Rector’.

 The Chairman of SSANIP, of the institution,  called on President Bola Tinubu to investigate the personnel salaries of the Institution from 2015 till date.

“We want to call on the President to investigate all personnel salaries from 2015-date when we migrated to IPPIS platform because they are claiming that they paid us all the shortfalls to 100% but uptil now no one has seen anything.”, He asserted