Security guards and cleaners of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura-Namoda in Zamfara on Friday shut gates of the institution demanding payment of their five months salaries.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that scores of menial workers who are contract staff blocked the entrance and exit gates of the institution and paralysed academic activities.
Spokespersons of the aggrieved workers, Abdullahi Dayau and Umaru Danmashe, security man and cleaner respectively, said they will not allow passage through the gates until their demands were met.
“We are prepared to sustain the struggle even if it means the end of our stay as workers in the school’’, they said.
Dayau said their families had been facing untold hardship following non-payment of the salaries adding that the jobs were their only source of income.
According to him, the rector had promised to raise money from the permanent staff’s salaries, yet nothing was given to them.
Dayau said the situation had led to many broken homes while their children were sent back from school for non-payment of fees.
Rector of the polytechnic, Mr Ahmad Lugga said the protesters were not the direct responsibility of the institution and as such, the protest was misplaced.
“We contracted out the issue of security to Pama Securities while sanitation is being handled by Habitat Sanitation Company and both outfits are responsible for their staff’’, he said.
The rector confirmed that the polytechnic owed the two companies adding that efforts were being made to resolve the problem.
He pleaded with the workers to be patient as efforts were being made to pay them. (NAN)
ABA/MNA/IEA