CASUOSTI'S LETTER TO MR. GOVERNOR
DECLARATION OF A 2-DAY WEEKLY WARNING STRIKE
TOWARDS LOOMING TOTAL INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN
OSUN STATE-OWNED POLYTECHNICS AND COLLEGES
OF EDUCATION
The entire members of the academic staff Unions of
the State-Owned Polytechnics and Colleges of
Education, having exhausted the limits of
perseverance and other media for alternative
dispute resolution to no avail, hereby declare a 2-day
weekly strike as a warning signal of looming total
industrial action to the State Government and other
stakeholders in the State’s tertiary education sector.
The 2-day weekly warning strike shall be observed
every Tuesday and Wednesday from 27th January,
2015.
Mr. Governor Sir, by this declaration, on every
Tuesday and Wednesday as from the 27th day of
January, 2015, all members of the academic staff in
Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Osun State College of
Technology, Esa-Oke and Osun State Colleges of
Education, Ilesa and Ila-Orangun shall cease from all
roles, functions and duties dischargeable under the
laws, statutes and regulations of the respective
institutions and of the Government of the State of
Osun until the Council of Academic Staff Unions of
Osun State-Owned Tertiary Institutions (comprising
Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics [ASUP], Iree
and Esa-Oke chapters and Colleges of Education
Academic Staff Union [COEASU], Ilesa and Ila-
Orangun chapters) shall direct otherwise.
As a coalition of Trade Unions committed to
industrial peace and smooth-running of the
institutions, we have drawn the attention of the State
Government and other relevant entities to the issues
prone to industrial crisis in the sector. We have also
demonstrated great sense of endurance and
patriotism by continuing to work under the tense and
uncertain conditions created by the unresolved issues
for so long. We remain empathetic with our students
who suffer most under the incidence of strike action
which has unfortunately become an annual ritual in
the State’s Polytechnics and Colleges of Education
largely due to Government’s insensitivity. It is our
hope that at least for the sake of our students, Mr.
Governor would use his good offices to ensure
immediate resolution of the following issues to
prevent a total industrial action which shall certainly
follow soon, unless the following issues are resolved
without further delay.
1. Non-Fulfillment of Certain Aspects of Collective
Agreement
A recent 5-month industrial action by our Unions was
suspended on 17th July, 2014 upon an Agreement
emanating from collective bargaining through well
drawn dialogue with the State Government. While we
remain grateful to Mr. Governor and other
stakeholders for roles played towards restoration of
industrial peace in our institutions, we are
disappointed that certain aspects of that Agreement
remain unfulfilled with consequent disruptive
consequences. The issues which are yet to be carried
as dictated by the Agreement under reference are as
follows:
(a) Recruitment of more staff with priority of
consideration for existing part-time/contract
members of staff
During the negotiations that culminated in the
collective agreement under reference, we were able
to convince Government that there was a state of
emergency in the personnel status of our
institutions. Alas! The situation has only become
worse due to Government inaction towards the
actualization of Government-CASUOSTI agreement
that personnel should be recruited into areas of
critical need. For the avoidance of doubt, the
situation is as follows:
(i) None of our Departments has up to the required
minimum number of teaching and non-teaching staff
(as set by the various accrediting bodies, i.e. NBTE
and NCCE). The short-staffed situation is even so
embarrassing that several Departments have less
than three permanent lecturers. This deplorable
situation arose from the failure of Government to
replace retirees, deceased staffers and those who
have transferred their services elsewhere in the last
seven years.
(ii) There is no acceptable excuse for the delay in
recruitment of staff for these institutions in as much
as acquisition of the required physical infrastructures
and learning resources as well as provision for staff
development are being taken care of by Tertiary
Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
(iii) The Managements of our respective institutions
have been left to resort to employment of part-time
and/or contract lecturers with a view to keeping the
programmes afloat. However, apart from the illegal
consequences of casualization, this trend has led to
the following unacceptable developments:
a. The part-time and/or contract staffs are being
subjected to a gruesome condition of service in some
cases. For example, some of them earn less than
thirty thousand naira in a semester (which
sometimes span 9 months!).
b. Part-time and/contact staff now outnumber
permanent staff in one of these institutions and as if
that is not bad enough, part-time and/or contact
staffs now occupy administrative and Management
positions in some cases.
(iv) Forasmuch as the part-time and/or contract staffs
have been of help in salvaging the situation for so
long and assisting in the periodic accreditation of
their various Departments hitherto, justice, fair-play
and moral rectitude obligate the State Government
and Managements of our institutions to accord them
priority during the next recruitment exercise. So far
as the part-time and/or contract staff are suitably
qualified, tested, trusted and have acquired so much
experience on the job, we shall resist any attempt to
neglect them in favour of new hands.
(b) Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS)
Without prejudice against the contributory pension
scheme in itself, we opine that its implementation in
this State has defiled its superiority to the old
defined benefit scheme. Mr. Governor Sir, the most
crucial benefit of the contributory pension scheme is
that it pays the worker his retirement benefits in
principle on monthly basis and converts same to a
rising investment-on-the-go making it to work for the
worker by multiplying the benefits through the
power of compound interest. Therefore, belated
remittance of monthly pension contribution or non-
remittance of it to the worker’s Retirement Savings
Account (RSA) by any employer is tantamount to a
rip-off and irredeemable loss, making the scheme a
scam.
Mr. Governor Sir, we started contributing under the
CPS in May 2010. It is saddening to note that
remittance of contributions to our RSAs has been
constantly belated while Government has withheld
these contributions for several months now. In other
words, the remittance is far from being up-to-date
and it took Government several months to remit few
ones already done.
In view of the shoddy implementation of the scheme
and the fact that its amendment is even due based
on the passage of the Pension Reforms Amendment
Act 2014, we submit that the scheme be suspended
and later re-commenced after necessary conditions
for its proper implementation are met. Specifically,
we demand that the old defined benefit scheme
should be reactivated and made to remain in force
until when the CPS would be re-commenced.
(c) Agreement towards tax relief
Mr. Governor Sir, with your characteristic humane
and benevolent disposition, you personally assured
us that a significantly reduced tax rate would be in
effect for our sector with effect from August, 2014.
This promise made by Mr. Governor himself was
widely celebrated among our members given the
attestable virtues of our amiable Governor and
coupled with the fact that Mr. Governor uttered this
commitment during the Hallowed Month of
Ramadan.
Government and CASUOSTI agreed that the Board of
Internal Revenue should fashion out a tax relief
package for staff of the State’s tertiary institutions
pending full implementation of statutory salary
structure. While the Board of Internal Revenue
Service held promising negotiations with us on this
matter, nothing conclusive has been heard. Mr.
Governor Sir, the tax burden we bear is so
unbearable that we still pay thrice as much tax as our
counterparts in neighbouring Ekiti State and
cosmopolitan Lagos State, whereas we earn the least
salary in the entire South-West.
(d) Implementation of hazard and medical allowances
The Agreement under reference implies that the
respective Governing Councils should negotiate and
implement these unconsolidated allowances
accordingly. While the Governing Councils have
opened channels of discussion on these allowances,
none of them has successfully made a resolution with
our Unions on the rate, let alone actualizing the
Agreement. The payment of these allowances which
has been agreed to be borne by the various
institutions has been due since July, 2014. We
demand payment of these allowances and the
accruing arrears without further delay.
2. Illegal withholding of deductions from salaries
We use this medium to express our utter frustration
over the continued withholding of deductions made
from our salaries and its attendant harsh and
unbearable effects on us and the integrity of
individual members of our Great Unions. Specifically,
deductions made from salaries on account of bank
loans, cooperative society dues, Union check-offs and
so on are continually withheld by Government. This
unpleasant trend, which was one of the issues raised
during the last industrial crisis has created compound
penal interests over bank loans taken by our
members and incapacitated various credit
associations within our system from discharging their
obligations to subscribers. We cannot endure this
anomaly beyond now.
While we use this medium to demand that our
salaries and deductions should be paid together
henceforth, we are constrained to notify Government
should take responsibility for the payment of penal
interests over our bank loans. We shall soon forward
the facts and figures to you accordingly sir.
3. Non-payment of salaries and leave bonuses
Our Unions condemn in totality the non-payment of
salaries until 3 months after they are due and non-
payment of leave bonuses since December, 2013.
We assure Mr. Governor of our best regards always