Ekiti tertiary institutions’ workers issue strike notice over unpaid subventions

…Give govt 24 hours ultimatum

….Accuse labour leaders of compromise

The workers of the Ekiti State-owned tertiary institutions, under the auspices of Joint Action Committee of Subverting Institutions (JACOSIES), has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to Ekiti State Government to pay N3.17 billion outstanding subventions or face industrial dispute.

JACOSIES also berated the leadership of the labour union for allegedly compromising issues relating to welfare of Ekiti workers.

Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ekiti State University chapter, Dr. Kayode Arogundade, who led other chapters’ union leaders to a press briefing in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday, said that the ultimatum would lapse today, December 21, 2021.

He pointed out areas of contention with the state government to include “unending deceit over monthly statutory allocation, absolute abandonment of subverting institutions on the altar of political mediocrity and constant delay in release of subventions to these institutions.

Others, according to the ASUU leader, are “failure of government to yield to peaceful persuasion, connivance with the NLC leadership to sabotage workers’ efforts on issues of welfare and refusal to defray five months outstanding since subventions.”

He expressed sadness that many of their members had suffered death and sickness owing to inabilities to pay their salaries and other statutory benefits due to them.

Arogundade warned: “Any failure on the part of government to accede to the demands would no doubt lead to declaration of unprecedented industrial dispute with the state government and at that stage, we should not be blamed for the forms it may take as well as the consequential effects of such action on our institutions.

“We consider the unilateral slashing of subventions to Ekiti institutions by Governor Fayemi without consulting the leadership of the institutions over issues of dwindling finances as undemocratic.”

Arogundade, who appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders and other well-meaning indigenes of the state to swiftly intervene in the impending impasse to persuade the governor to change his mindset about poor funding of subverting institutions and prevent their total collapse, accused the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), under the leadership of Kolapo Olatunde, of laxity and ineptitude.

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