Workers of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) today shunned their official duties and converged on the Administrative Building of the school to seek the payment of salary arrears.
The workers who are majorly members of the SSANIP and NASU, occupied the admin office for hours and early in the morning the management staff led by Rector, Mr Gani Ogundahunsi addressed the workers to show concern with their plight.
The Rector pleaded with the aggrieved unions and their members to still exercise patience with the state government and the polytechnic’s authorities over their unpaid salary arrears caused by dwindling resources and financial crunch affecting the country.
One of the workers said, “the unions SSANIP and NASU are stagging protest inside the school at the administrative blocks of the institution i.e Rectory, Registry and bursary to protest on payment of December 2016 and November 2020 salary arrears.
“The state government has paid 100% subvention of the two months but the management of RUGIPO is yet to pay December 2016 and 50% balance of November 2020 salaries.
“Besides, the staff are yet to receive December 2020 till date; 2019 promotion is still hanging .APAER form for 2019 is on circulation now while 2020 promotion exercise remained unattended to.
“The protest is a sort of sit down strike, which may graduate to Lock up of the polytechnic if the state government’s intervention fund is not given on time.
Mr Ogundahunsi explained that the management was working round the clock to ensure the issue at hand was resolved in no distance time, adding that the issue of salary arrears affects most states of the federation as well as all ondo state tertiary institutions and even the state and local government workers.
The Rector said the RUGIPO authorities were not sleeping over the plight of the workers pledging that it would soon become history.
