The Joint Union of Plateau State-owned Tertiary Institutions (JUPTI) has threatened to embark on an indefinite strike starting Monday if the state government fails to meet its demands, including salary increments and other outstanding issues.
The warning followed a breakdown in negotiations between the union and the government after a meeting held on Friday ended without agreement.
JUPTI Chairman, Yohanna Igyem, said the union had been patient for a long time but could no longer wait.
According to him:
“The contending issues dated back since 2024 without fruitful resolutions. The key issues are the non-implementation of 25% and 35% salary increment for staff of tertiary institutions, the non-domestication of Polytechnic Act, 2029, the non-release of employment letters at College of Agriculture Garkawa and College of Arts Sciences and Technology (CAST) Kurgwi, among other issues.”
He explained that the union had earlier issued multiple ultimatums to the government since January 2026, but the situation remained unresolved.
He said:
“We issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Head of Service on the 9th January, 2026, and government invited the union for a meeting without fruitful results.
“The union, again decided to issue a 7-day ultimatum to the government dated 6th March, 2026 and the government invited union for a meeting and pleaded for extension of time to enable it conclude negotiations with the Union.”
Igyem added that a scheduled meeting in April was postponed indefinitely without a new date, worsening the situation.
“After a month, government therefore, invited the union for meeting scheduled for Thursday, 16th April, 2026 and later rescheduled the meeting to 21st April, 2026 and was suddenly postponed indefinitely without a new date.”
He said the union has now issued a final 48-hour ultimatum from April 24 to April 27, 2026, warning that failure to meet their demands will lead to an indefinite strike without further notice.
“JUPTI at its emergency meeting held on Thursday, 23rd April, 2026 issues a 48-hour ultimatum… and failure to do so, the Union will be left with no other option but rather to proceed on an indefinite strike without further notice.”
