ASUP exco meets on strike today

THERE are strong indications that the strike by polytechnics

lecturers, under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics,

ASUP, may be called off today, as members of ASUP's National

Executive Council, NEC, hold an emergency meeting, to appraise the

situation.

The polytechnic lecturers havebeen on strike for the past 80 days.

ASUP Chairman, Dr. Chibuzor Asumogba, while speaking to Vanguard,

yesterday, said "there has been a green light on the Consolidated

Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS) 15.

"We have strong reason to believe that CONTISS 15 will soon be

implemented. But it is at our National Executive Council (NEC) meeting

tomorrow(today) that we will determine whether or not to call off the

strike."

The emergency ASUP NEC meeting, which holds at the Labour House in

Abuja, is sequel to the intervention of the Joint House Committee on

Education into the strike.

The committee, the Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufa'i

and his Labour and Productivity counterpart, Chief Emeka Wogu, had met

with the union on July 9, urging them to call-off the strike.

Speaking to News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, earlier in Lagos, Asumogba

said "the NEC is meeting to appraise the progress made so far,

following the meeting held with the committee on education. We have

received a green light on the CONTISS 15 and we have promises here and

there on other demands. The committee on education is proactive in

addressing our demands. The committee is highly placed and with its

members' integrity, we have no doubt that our demands willbe

addressed."

It would be recalled that ASUP, among other reasons, went onstrike

citing the failure of the federal and state governments to implement

agreements on issues affecting polytechnic education.

ASUP wants a full implementation of CONTISS 15 and a stop to

discrimination against holders of the Higher National Diploma.

The union is also protesting the absence of a National Polytechnics

Commission and the deplorable condition of many polytechnics in

Nigeria