Polytechnic workers give Aiyedatiwa 14-day ultimatum to pay minimum wage

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of staff unions in Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions has given a 14-day ultimatum to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa to implement the national minimum wage for workers in the state’s higher institutions.

It said failure for Governor Aiyedatiwa to act within 14 days could result in industrial action and disruption of academic activities in tertiary institutions in the state.

Institutions to be affected by the industrial action are Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa; University of Medical Sciences, Ondo; and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo,

The threat to embark on industrial action was contained in a letter addressed to Governor Aiyedatiwa and signed by representatives of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP).

They said they had been unjustly excluded from the wage structure already enjoyed by core civil servants.

In the letter, JAC said the continued neglect of tertiary institution workers in the implementation of the 2024 National Minimum Wage and related salary adjustments were frustrating.