Calabar, March 10, 2020 (NAN) The Cross River College of Health Technology has started an indefinite strike over suspension of its Consolidated Polytechnic and Colleges of Education and Academic Salary Structure by the state government.
Mr Okon Etim, the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), College of Health Technology, Calabar branch, said on Tuesday that the two weeks warning strike given to the state government to reverse the salary structure had elapsed on March 2.
Etim explained that the consolidated salary structure was implemented for all Colleges of Health Technology in 2011 by the Federal Government.
According to him, the Cross River government only implemented the new salary structure for the college workers in Sept. 2018.
He lamented that one year after implementation and payment of the salary structure, the state government had to suspend the structure in Nov. 2019.
He said that workers in the college were shocked to see from their pay slips that their salary structure had been changed.
The ASUP chairman said that all efforts to get the state government to correct the abnormally proved abortive.
“We are here to express our displeasure for the kind of treatment that some government functionaries have treated this school.
“The issue at stake is selected treatment; the issue has been forceful withdrawal of the salary structure of this college.
“We have two salary structures for the college; Consolidated Polytechnics and Colleges of Education and Academic Salary Structure for academic staff and Consolidated Tertiary Education Institutional Salary Structure for non-academic staff.
“A committee was set up by the state government to look into all this abnormally and the new minimum wage structure, but to our surprise, our salary structure was removed,” he said.
He said that the college offered National and Higher National Diplomas and its graduates also participate in the National Youth Service Corps Scheme.
He said that the college would not shift ground on the position of indefinite strike until the salary structure was restored.
Mr Emmanuel Enyiegor, the Deputy National Secretary, Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, said the reason why the institution had not embarked on strike over the years was due to its peculiar nature.
“We hardly go on strike in this college because we produce health professionals whose examinations are regulated by the West African Health Examination Council.
“When dates for this examinations are fixed, if we embark on strike, the students will miss the examination and will not have the opportunity to write them again until a year after when they would have done another fresh registration,” he said.
He said that the union was not happy embarking on strike, adding however that it appeared the state government would understand the action of the effect of the strike better.
He described the institution as one of the best in Nigeria, adding that the college was known for its quality education and discipline.
He urged the state government to do the needful by restoring the consolidated salary structure for workers of the institution. (NAN)
