Polytechnic teachers suspend planned strike action

THE Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has suspended its planned industrial action planned to commence Wednesday.

The decision to put the strike on hold follows a fruitful discussion held with the Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau and the House of Representatives Committee on Education in Abuja Tuesday.

The union had a two-hour meeting with Shekarau starting from 11 in the morning and ended another meeting with the education committee some minutes to 7pm Monday evening.

Public Relations Officer of ASUP, Clement Chirman in a telephone interview after the meeting at the National Assembly, said the negotiation team of the union will relay the outcome of the meetings to ASUP national executive council.

While calling on union members to continue to perform their lawful duties, he said the union and government will continue to dialogue in resolving all outstanding issues.  

ASUP was protesting a circular issued by the ministry of education, suspending the implementation of CONTISS 15 in polytechnics, and the decisions by the governing councils of Federal polytechnics Oko in Anambra State and Ado, Ado- Ekiti to suspend all union activities in the institutions and the sack of union leaders.

Chirman said the Minister has directed the immediate withdrawal of the offensive circular suspending CONTISS 15 and has ordered the restoration of the union activities in the affected institutions.

It was gathered that these directives by the Minister were considered cogent enough to warrant the decision of the union to suspend the planned strike.