By Taraba News
Workers under the Joint Action Committee of Tertiary Institutions in Taraba State (JACTI) have issued a two-week ultimatum to the Taraba State Government to address a series of outstanding welfare, salary and allowance-related grievances, warning that failure to act could trigger a two-week warning strike.
JACTI made the position known in a press conference issued on Thursday, September 24, 2026, signed by its Chairman, Comrade Misa Gaji, and Secretary, Comrade Abdulkarim Z. Dangana.
The committee comprises workers from the State Polytechnic, Suntai/Jalingo Campus; College of Education, Zing; College of Nursing Sciences, Jalingo; College of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Jalingo; and College of Health Technology, Takum.
Workers demand refund of withheld funds
JACTI said its members had made repeated efforts to resolve the issues through dialogue and formal communication with the state government.
The committee said formal complaints were submitted through the Office of the Head of Service on August 2, 2024, and March 3, 2025, but alleged that no concrete resolution had followed.
According to the committee, workers had contributed money from their salaries into cooperative and welfare arrangements, but the funds had allegedly remained withheld for years.
JACTI is demanding the immediate refund of all withheld cooperative and welfare funds belonging to its members.
It is also demanding the refund of other monies allegedly deducted from workers’ salaries.
Dispute over N2,000 ID card deductions
The committee also raised concerns over a ₦2,000 deduction from members’ salaries in 2024 for staff identity cards.
JACTI alleged that the deduction was made without prior knowledge of its leadership and that, as of the September 24 press briefing, the affected workers had still not received the identity cards.
APER deductions and assessment forms
Another issue raised by the committee concerns deductions allegedly made from workers’ salaries for APER forms.
JACTI said tertiary institutions have historically handled the production of their APER forms internally because their assessment process differs from that of the mainstream civil service.
The committee alleged that the state government recently became involved in the process and that, despite approaching the Head of Service in July over the matter, the issue had not been resolved.
It further expressed concern that the APER forms had not been made available to the institutions as another promotion year approaches.
3% salary deduction over health insurance
JACTI also questioned what it described as 3 per cent deductions from workers’ basic salaries in August.
According to the committee, workers were informed that the deductions were connected to the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).
However, JACTI said workers had not been adequately consulted or informed about the health insurance arrangement.
The committee said members had not been asked to indicate the health facilities they would use and alleged that even union leaders were unaware of the specific facilities to which they had been attached.
JACTI therefore called for an immediate stoppage of the deductions and refund of monies already deducted, pending further engagement with the government.
CATA, CONTTA and EAA allowances
A major demand concerns the payment of Consolidated Academic Tools Allowance (CATA), Consolidated Academic Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) and Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
JACTI said the Federal Government had approved a package covering the allowances for tertiary education workers based on what it described as the 2010 union/Federal Government agreement.
The committee claimed that funding had been released for implementation from January 2026, and that workers in federal institutions had received the package, including eight months’ arrears.
JACTI said it had engaged the relevant authorities and was promised a round-table meeting involving institutional managements and unions, but alleged that the promised resolution had not materialised.
The committee is demanding that payment of CATA/CONTTA and EAA commence with the October 2026 salary, alongside accumulated arrears.
Concern over placement of newly recruited staff
The tertiary workers also raised concerns about staff employed by the state government in tertiary institutions in 2026.
JACTI alleged that some of the newly employed workers had not been properly placed according to their qualifications and academic cadres.
The committee specifically complained that lecturers and non-academic staff were allegedly being treated similarly without sufficient distinction between holders of PhDs, master’s degrees, bachelor’s degrees, NCE/diplomas and secondary school qualifications.
It described the situation as unfair and demoralising and called for proper placement of the affected workers.
JACTI backs education reforms but demands workers’ welfare
Despite the grievances, JACTI said it supports Governor Agbu Kefas’ education initiatives, particularly the administration’s free education policy and declaration of a state of emergency in the education sector.
The committee said it acknowledged the administration’s efforts to reposition education in Taraba but stressed that the welfare of workers must also be prioritised.
It maintained that educational reforms require a motivated and fairly treated workforce.
Two-week ultimatum
JACTI said it had pursued the issues through what it described as peaceful and appropriate channels but alleged that the government had failed to take concrete steps towards resolving the concerns.
The committee therefore gave the government two weeks to address its demands.
It warned that if the demands are not addressed within the period, JACTI would have “no other option” than to embark on a two-week warning strike to press its demands.
The committee said it was issuing the warning while seeking to maintain industrial harmony across Taraba’s tertiary institutions.
Key demands at a glance:
Refund of withheld cooperative and welfare funds.
Refund of salary deductions.
Refund and stoppage of disputed deductions, including those relating to staff ID cards and health insurance.
Resolution of the APER forms/assessment issue.
Payment of CATA/CONTTA and EAA from October 2026 with arrears.
Proper placement of newly recruited tertiary institution staff according to their qualifications and cadres.
Government intervention within two weeks to avert the proposed warning strike.
The allegations and claims above are those contained in JACTI’s September 24, 2026 press statement; they have been attributed to the committee rather than presented as independently established facts. A web search did not locate an independent report confirming the specific Taraba JACTI statement as of this response.
