Biometric data capture: Ramat Poly teachers set for showdown
Crisis is brewing between the Borno State government and Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri’s academic staff and senior staff over problems of salary payment arising from the slow process of biometric data capturing, and 65 years retirement age.
The institution’s branches of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) rose from their combined congress last Tuesday, May 9, giving the state government up to May 31 within which to resolve the two issues, among several others, or face an indefinite strike action.
The forum of the two unions had met with top government functionaries of the state, led by Governor Kashim Shettima, on Sunday, May 7, to deliberate on the issues. Daily Trust learnt that the Sunday meeting was the second in the polytechnic staff’s effort to extract a favourable commitment from the state government on the issues.
The Tuesday congress, which abruptly halted their one-day strike action of Monday, May 8, calmed frayed nerves to give the state government the last chance, in consideration of what some attendees described as Governor Shettima’s ‘gentlemanliness’.
“Our major grievances with the state government is that of the salary issue arising from the biometric data capturing in the state’s civil service, which created untold hardship to our members,” Babashuwa Goni, the Chairman of the forum, told Daily Trust after the congress.
“As a result of the cumbersome approach taken by the government officials to the biometric data capturing process, some of our members have not been paid their salaries for the past 10 months; many of them have been evicted from their rented houses, and many of them have their children sent back from school because they have not been able to pay their school fees,” the chairman lamented.
“Some of our members studying in Malaysia, The UK and other countries abroad, I think about six of them, even had to fly back home to do the biometric data capturing, but they have not been paid their salaries for the past nine or 10 months; 23 of our members have been partially paid, with outstanding of periods ranging from two to four months; while some have not been paid for seven months.
“Linked to this, we also have the problem of salary cuts for our academic staff; five allowances, including examination and field trip allowances, have not been paid for nine or 10 months now; all academic staff are supposed to be paid these allowances; I think the academic staff affected here are about 68; for the nonacademic staff, all have been affected.
“Our other demands include the resumption of the payment of our promotion benefits, which we have not enjoyed since 2016,” Goni said.
“But our second most serious demand, after the payment of salaries and the expedited resolution of the biometric data capturing problem is the 65 years retirement age, which has been adopted by most of the states in the north-east; in Borno State, the House of Assembly has since passed the bill into law, but it has still not been accented to by the governor.
“These are the contending issues with which we confronted the government last Sunday,” the forum chairman said.
The resolution of last Sunday’s meeting, signed by Bukar Zanna, Secretary, Establishment and Service Matters, for the state’s Head of Service. a copy of which was made available to Daily Trust, included the government’s prompt consideration of the report of the technical committee raised to harmonise areas of disagreement on biometric data capture exercise; government’s approval for the payment of air tickets for staff officially sponsored to study abroad to come home for the exercise; and government shall consider the issue of 65 years retirement age for academic staff of the state’s tertiary institutions.
“With these, the congress decided that we give the state government the benefit of doubt, perchance it will implement our demands; and if it fails to do so by the end of May, we shall embark on the indefinite strike action,” Babashuwa Goni said.