The Joint Union of Plateau State-owned Tertiary Institutions (JUPTI) has declared an indefinite strike over unresolved issues with the state government dating back to 2024.

The union, a coalition of staff unions across state-owned higher institutions, said the strike will commence at midnight on Monday if its demands—including salary increments, issuance of employment letters, and domestication of the Polytechnic Act—are not met.

Negotiations between the government and the union have been ongoing since last year, but talks held on Friday ended in a deadlock.

Speaking to journalists on Saturday, JUPTI Chairman, Comrade Yohanna Igyem, confirmed the decision, noting that the union had earlier issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the government in a letter addressed to the Head of Service on Thursday.

According to him, the union had exercised considerable patience despite the government’s failure to meet what he described as legitimate demands already implemented in other states.

He listed the key issues as the non-implementation of the 25 and 35 per cent salary increments for tertiary institution staff, failure to domesticate the Polytechnic Act, and the non-release of employment letters to staff of the College of Agriculture, Garkawa, and the College of Arts, Science and Technology (CAST), Kurgwi, among others.

“We issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Head of Service on January 9, 2026, and the government invited the union for a meeting, which did not yield any tangible outcome.

“The union subsequently issued a seven-day ultimatum on March 6, 2026. The government again convened a meeting and requested more time to conclude negotiations.

“After about a month, the government scheduled another meeting for April 16, 2026, which was later shifted to April 21, 2026, before being postponed indefinitely without a new date.

“At an emergency meeting held on April 23, 2026, JUPTI issued a 48-hour ultimatum, effective from April 24 to midnight of April 27, 2026, for the government to address all outstanding demands. Failure to do so will leave the union with no option but to embark on an indefinite strike without further notice,” he said.

He added that a letter dated March 23, 2026, addressed to the Head of Service, detailed the timeline of engagements with the government, all of which have yet to produce a resolution. (Daily Trust)

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