A member of staff of the Polytechnic who does not want his name in print has threatened to drag the rector to a court of competent jurisdiction for not remitting workers deductions to the unions operating in the institution.
The staff alleged that Rev. Fr. Madu has been frustrating labour activities in the Polytechnic through illegal withholding of statutory trade unions and cooperative deductions from workers salaries as well as issuing dud cheques to them for Imo justifiable and verifiable reasons.
He disclosed that it is a criminal offence by any Chief Executive officer or employer of labour to withhold check-off dues of employees or issue dud cheques to trade unions and other associations in that regard.
According to the staff, plans have been concluded to serve a court summons on the Catholic priest for not only withholding or diverting workers deductions for many months but also issuing bounced cheques to the unions and other groups. He described the Rector as an anti-labour who sees nothing good in the staff particularly the old ones whom he has subjected to all manner of humiliation, frustration, deprivation and marginalization in preference to his (the priest’s) newly employed relations.
He accused the Rector of practicing what he called “bread and butter administration”, a divide and rule policy which has caused a lot of schism, acrimony and bad blood among the staff and students of the polytechnic.
The staff who expressed displeasure at the flagrant abuse and violation of public service rules in the institution requested the Imo state government to probe the Rector on internally generated revenue namely school fees, development levies, acceptance fees, medical fees, departmental fees etc and the disbursement of money meat for accreditation of courses and procurement of equipment and other materials for schools and departments in the Polytechnic.
Attempts to contact the Rector or the Public Relations Officer failed as their phone numbers would not be reached.
