A fresh showdown is looming in the Ondo state-owned Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, (RUGIPO) over the termination of appointments of members of staff of the Polytechnic Staff School, just as the 30 sacked workers threatened legal action against the management of the institution.
The threat by the workers was contained in a letter addressed to the management of the school and the state Head of Service, calling for the reinstatement of the sacked workers within the next 30 days.
The workers, speaking through their lawyer, Banjo Ayetakin & Co. in the letter said they may be compelled to institute legal action against the institution if the management refused to reverse the sack order.
In the letter titled “Unlawful Disengagement of Staff at the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo” the solicitor stated that about 30 workers were sacked “without committing any offence and without any acceptable internal re-organisation”
The letter read: “It is our brief that our clients are employees of your institution’s Governing Council, they had their appointments confirmed, they were promoted as well as discharge their responsibilities in line with the conditions of their service and this is to the satisfaction of your institution’s management.
“However, without committing any offence and without any acceptable internal re-organisation whatsoever; your establishment; issued letters of disengagement to our clients who work in your staff secondary school and staff primary school; thereby disengaging our clients from the services of your institution.
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“It is pertinent to crave your indulgence to the fact that our clients are statutory employees of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic and the conditions of appointments or engagements of our clients are regulated or governed by statutes, ordinances, edicts and regulations made by the polytechnic; among which are the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo Senior Staff Manual and Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo Senior Staff Career Structure; to mention just a few.
“The purported disengagements of our clients by the letter of disengagement from your institution is in flagrant violation of our client’s conditions of service and the purported disengagements are apparently flawed, wrongful, illegal and inconsequential.
“Consequently, we have our clients’ instructions to demand their immediate reinstatement and the continuous payment of their salaries”
The sacked workers, however, threatened that “if you fail, refuse or neglect to accede to our demand within thirty days from the date on this letter, we have our clients’ instruction to commence legal action against your establishment and by that time; we will be praying the court for our clients’ reinstatement, payment of salaries and aggravated damages”
The workers also called on the Head of Service to use his “good office to prevail on the management of the Polytechnic to renege on this dastardly act”.
They noted that Polytechnic secondary school and primary have been shut down with hundreds of pupils thrown to the streets abruptly.
It would be recalled that the governing council of the institution terminated the appointments of members of staff of the Polytechnic Staff School last August.
and then