The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), on Thursday, failed to honour the invitation of the Federal Government to attend separate meetings in order to resolve ongoing strikes.
An official of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, in a chat with our correspondent, when asked why the meetings were postponed, said the stakeholders were absent.
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“Sorry, the stakeholders were not around,” the official said in a WhatsApp message sent to Daily Trust.
The spokesman of the Ministry, Charles Akpan, also confirmed in a text message that the meetings had been shelved.
When asked why the meetings were postponed, he simply said, “I was not informed by my Principal.”
The striking Polytechnic workers are demanding the implementation of the 2014 NEEDS Report, the release of revitalisation fund to the sector, reconstitution of governing councils in federal polytechnics and state-owned institutions, among other things.
JUSUN, on the other hand, is asking for financial autonomy for the judiciary and the implementation of Executive Order 10 signed by President Muhammdu Buhari in May last year.
The polytechnics and the courts have been shut down for days following the strike action by the lecturers and the judicial workers.