Workers at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), in Ondo State, have embarked on an indefinite strike over the non-payment of six months’ salaries and the state government’s failure to implement the national minimum wage.
The protest, which took place on the institution’s campus on Tuesday, saw members of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) staging a peaceful demonstration to express their frustrations.
Chanting solidarity songs and holding placards with messages such as “We are hungry, pay our six months’ salaries”, “Mr Governor, please implement our 2025 budget”, and “Acting Rector, please clear our 2022, 2023, and 2024 promotion arrears”, the workers demanded immediate government intervention.
Speaking during the protest, the NASU Chairman of RUGIPO chapter, Mr. Julius Olugbenga-Aro, alongside his SSANIP counterpart, Mr. Saka Olokungboye, decried the hardship their members are facing as a result of unpaid wages.
“This protest is to express our frustration over the non-payment of six months’ salary arrears and the failure of the Ondo State Government to implement the national minimum wage for polytechnic staff,” Olugbenga-Aro said.
While they acknowledged recent efforts by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa—particularly the move to convert the polytechnic into a university—the union leaders stressed that more urgent steps are required to address the plight of staff.
The workers called for the immediate payment of salary arrears, full implementation of the 2025 institutional budget, clearance of pending promotion arrears, and the commencement of the new national minimum wage for polytechnic staff.
They warned that if their demands are not met, the strike could severely disrupt academic activities, affecting both students and the institution’s overall progress.
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