Lecturers at the polytechnics and colleges of education owned by the Osun State Government have given Governor Rauf Aregbesola a 21-day ultimatum to resume payment of full salaries and address other issues including obnoxious taxes, lack of good roads and toilets for students.
The lecturers, who are operating under the aegis of Council of Academic Staff Unions of Osun State Owned Tertiary Institutions gave the ultimatum in a letter dated November 6 to Aregbesola.
The lecturers said in the copy of the letter which was made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Tuesday that they had been placed on half salary for the past 26 months and had been paying high tax despite this.
The letter was signed by Chairman of CASUOSTI, Mr. Olusegun Lana; Secretary, Mr. Sikiru Foluruso as well as chairmen and secretaries of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree; Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke; College of Education, Ilesa and College of Education, Ila Orangun.
The lecturers appealed to the governor to start paying full salaries to them and to ensure that staff offices and other infrastructure were put in place at the various institutions to ensure conducive environment for teaching and learning.
The letter read in part, “For several years now, the academic staff of the state-owned tertiary institutions have been subjected to untold hardship, frustrations and unprecedented levels of demoralization by the harsh effects of un-addressed festering issues ranging from unfulfilled collective agreement, selective justice in the reinstatement of disengaged members of staff, withdrawn statutory benefits
tantamount to salary reduction, salary modulation (half salary) regime now up to 26 months, cut-throat tax, injuriously administered contributory pension scheme to several other painful conditions.
“Many of these festering issues have become recurrent and their unbearable consequences have occasioned perennial industrial disputes often punctuated by duly signed agreement upon which government had repeatedly reneged.
PUNCH
