The state-owned tertiary institutions in Osun State have rejected the government’s plan to start deduction of 1.5 percent as premium from their basic salary for the health insurance scheme.
A letter dated June 20, 2019, signed by the Academy Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Osun State College of Technology, Esaoke, College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), College of Education, Ila-Orangun and Ilesa, urged the government to exclude the institutions from the deduction in the interest of industrial peace.
The letter addressed to the Governor, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola, was in response to the government’s letter, titled, “Commencement of 1.5 per cent Deduction as Premium from the Basic Salary of all Public Servants in the State and Alignment of All State-owned Tertiary Academic Institutions with the Osun Health Insurance Scheme Tertiary Institution Social Health Insurance Programme.”
The letter said: “We are constrained to use this medium to request for exemption from Osun State Health Insurance Scheme. Without prejudice to the benefits of such a scheme, we find it unaffordable and it will further impoverish our members more, having suffered from the calamities of half-salary payments, which has undoubtedly had a bandwagon effect on us through cut-throat taxes and yet unpaid indebtedness to our banks.”