Osun tertiary institutions lecturers suspend strike

Academic activities in Osun Stateowned tertiary institutions have come alive once again after striking lecturers announced the suspension of their five month- old industrial action.

In a telephone chat with journalists in Osogbo yesterday, chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP), Osun State Polytechnic, Iree and Public Relations Officer of Council of Academic Staff Union of Osun State Owned Tertiary Institutions, Mr. Dotun Omisore, said that the state government and the unions have reached an agreement on some of the demands of the lecturers.

It would be recalled that non-academic staff of the tertiary institutions had earlier in the week returned to work, while the academic staff resumed academic duties yesterday.

Omisore explained that the state government had signed into law the elongation of their retirement age from 60 to 65years as is obtained in the university system, adding that the state government has also set up an inter ministerial committee to look into the of contributory pension scheme. He also said that members of the unions are part of the committee.

He added that the government has agreed to make recruitment of more staff a priority with an assurance that within the shortest possible time, it would employ more academic and non-academic staff to fill the vacancies in the affected institutions. On the hazards of work and medical allowance, Omisore said that it was agreed that the issue should be negotiated with each of the governing council and management of the institutions.

He explained that it was based on the above agreement that the unions decided to suspend the strike action and return to their duty posts. The affected institutions are Osun State Polytechnic, Ire, Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, Osun State College of Education, Ila-Orangun and Osun State College of Education, Ilesa.