The Federal Polytechnic Mubi chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has protested the alleged prolonged failure of the polytechnic’s management to remit pension contributions deducted from workers’ salaries.
The chapter’s Chairman, Comrade Kadala Solomon Bandi, told a news briefing in Mubi on Thursday that some pension deductions had remained unremitted for about two years despite being deducted from staff salaries.
Bandi said the union’s concerns were rooted in the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014, which requires deducted pension contributions to be remitted promptly.
He said some academic staff had even discovered that pension deductions covering as much as 10 years had not been remitted under successive administrations of the institution.
Describing the situation as a serious threat to workers’ welfare, the ASUP chairman said it had compounded other challenges facing staff of the polytechnic.
He appealed to the Federal Ministry of Education and the National Board for Technical Education to intervene, saying internal efforts to resolve the matter had failed.
The union specifically called for an immediate audit and forensic investigation into all unremitted third-party deductions, as well as the establishment of a clear timeline for settling all outstanding obligations.
Urging the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress, students and other stakeholders to support efforts to resolve the dispute, Bandi stressed the need for urgent intervention to restore confidence in the polytechnic.
