Unless Govt. Meet Our Demands Strike Continues…. JUPTI Voice Out
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By Daniel Agada, Jos
The Joint Unions Of Plateau Tertiary Institutions (JUPTI) vowed to continue with the strike action if Plateau State Government failed to implement the agreement earlier agreed upon.
You would recall JUPTI embarked on strike about two weeks ago pressing home their demands that bothers on members welfare and other issues.
Speaking to journalists at NUJ Secretariat Jos the state capital, Chairman of JUPTI Comrade Sunoe Peter said the Unions is worried by the manner in which the Government through some of its agencies and department are attending to our correspondence.
“A situation where our reminders and notices are not responded to by offices where such letters are addressed to calls for concern. We are law abiding Unions and cannot just watched while some officials in Government toy with the Tertiary education in the state.
” We demand the immediate release of Treasury Single Account (TSA) withheld funds totaling four hundred and sixty million (N460m) to Tertiary Institutions.
“During the implementation of the National minimum wage in the state, it is regrettable from nowhere;our hitherto consolidated salary structure was deconsolidated at salary preparation point without regard to our peculi.
“It should be noted that the Plateau State Government through a circular dated 17th March, 2020 Ref. HCS/S/ALL/2/XX approved the implementation of the National minimum wage and the consolidated salary structure for Tertiary Institutions in the state. The question is who tempered and splitted the consolidated salary structure of Tertiary Institutions into different components?
“About 75% of staff salaries are been withheld for months not minding the fact that these are deductions directly from staff salaries for cooperative, National housing funds and Unions check-off dues.
“These deductions especially the cooperative savings are meant for investment and immediate needs of staff which we expect Government to encourage habit of savings but instead they are holding more than half of our staff monthly salaries in the guise of scarce resources.
“It should be noted that PLASCHEMA had been deducting money from staff salaries for a period of nine months without corresponding benefits from the health scheme”, Peter stressed.
He called on the Plateau Government to do the needful by reciprocating the kind gesture and understanding which the Unions have shown in trying to resolve the lingering issues.
The Unions also appealed to the members of the public and well-meaning Plateau people to intervene and see to the speedy resolution of the impasse for the progress of education in the state.
