The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of trade unions comprising of ASUP, COEASU, SSANIP, and SSUCOEN in Oyo State tertiary institution (EACOED Oyo, TOPS Saki, AOP Eruwa, COE Lanlate, and OYSCATECH Igboora have frowned at the continuous use of Platinum consultant to hijack the functions of the governing council of various institutions in the state.
This is contained in a communique signed by Oyewumi S. Olusegun, the State JAC Chairman who also doubled as COEASU Chairman, Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo.
According to Oyewumi, the negative impact of platinum consultants has hindered the institutions to produce quality students because adequate funds for materials were not released.
JAC also queried the none-appointment of the substantive management team in OYSCATECH, Igboora, and TOP, Saki calling the state government to immediately fill the vacancies by making the requisite available to interested staff.
The communique reads thus:
THE COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE (JAC) OF TRADE UNIONS (ASUP, COEASU, SSANIP, AND SSUCOEN) IN EACOED, OYO, TOPS, SAKI, AOP, ERUWA, COE LANLATE, AND OYSCATECH IGBOORA HELD AT AOP, ERUWA ON MONDAY, 6TH December 2021
Preamble
JAC in her characteristic manner met to review sundry issues across the institutions with aim of charting ways forward on general and peculiar issues.
The body noted with displeasure the silence and inaction of the Hon. Commissioner for Education after the October 20 parley between both parties. It is also observed that most issues tabled before the present administration (several months back) remain unattended to thereby making tension to gather momentum among the general members of the workforce in the sector.
It against this background that the body considered some of the issues and subsequently made some resolutions.
Issues
Nonimplementation of the government/JAC agreement on defrayment of minimum wage arrears at OYSCOED, Lanlate, even though other institutions had done the needful in December 2020, April 2021, and September 2021.
The dearth of infrastructures. The state of infrastructure across all the institutions is deplorable, as the Government has not embarked on any construction in any of the six institutions in the last three (3) years and the existing ones were barely maintained.
Overdue conduct of accreditation of courses in most of the institutions especially EACOED, Oyo, TOP, Saki and OYSCATECH, Igboora.
Nonimplementation of the statutory 2021 annual incremental and promotion exercise in all the institutions. This is against the tradition of implementing the annual salary increment and promotion by October of every year, the present Administration has reneged in doing so in the tertiary institution’s sector this year.
The yoke of inadequate monthly subventions which are not sufficient to pay salary made some institutions resort to borrowing to pay salary especially in OYSCATECH, Igboora, and EACOED, Oyo.
Non-appointment of substantive management teams. More worrisome is the fact that the process of appointment had been completed upward of a year ago in OYSCATECH, Igboora, and TOP, Saki.
The negative impact of Platinum consultants in the running of the tertiary institutions as the consultants refuse to release adequate funds for materials that are necessary to produce quality students.
Resolutions
- The Government should as a matter of urgency defray all the 11 months arrears of consequential adjustments t on the new minimum wage at Lanlate.
- The Government should embark on aggressive provision of infrastructures across all the institutions to meet the 21st-century global standard.
- The existing infrastructures should not only be maintained but equally upgraded.
- Resumption of the annual release of Capital grants to all the institutions (a practice that the present administration has never honored)
- In line with the requisite responsibility of the Government, the present Administration should make available the required funds to prosecute the overdue accreditation exercise in all the affected institutions.
- The Government should immediately make the requisite announcement to fill vacancies in management positions in OYSCATEC, H, Igboora, and TOP, Saki.
- The Government should promptly implement annual increments in all institutions to avert continual mounting of existing arrears of between 4 to 1years of same in some of the institutions.
- All the congresses of our Unions in the institutions are hereby encouraged to be prepared for a legitimate action to press home our demands anytime soon
- All the Union members of JAC should be prepared for solidarity action with Lanlate at the appropriate time by embarking on joint actions to achieve the rights of our members at Lanlate the y January if the government did not settle the accrued arrears in December.
- Restricting the role of Platinum to monitor of finances of the College. Platinum should henceforth stop appropriating the functions and power of Governing Council/Management.
Conclusion
It is disheartening to note that, the present Administration as the proprietor of all the Government Institutions is dishing out preferential treatments as made manifest in the provision of accreditation funds for the Polytechnic Ibadan and deprivation of same to others and insistence of the subjection of all institutions to the aberration of Platinum Consultants except LAUTECH and TECH U, as well as the implementation of 2021 annual incremental and promotions across all other sectors except the tertiary institutions. Whatever is good for the goose should be good for the gander.
JAC noted that the Government should not take its understanding for granted. The government should accede to our request to sustain industrial harmony in all institutions. The Unions shall not hesitate to deploy all lawful means at their arsenal to ensure the government does the needful.
Thank you.
Long live Oyo State.
OYEWUMI S. Olusegun
