Adebayo Adenrele
The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP), Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti Chapter, has called on the federal government to grant special tax relief to workers of the institution as an immediate palliative over the severe financial burden caused by the deplorable condition of the road leading to the Polytechnic.
The association said the badly damaged access road had gone beyond being an infrastructure challenge, describing it as a major workers’ welfare issue that was steadily eroding the take-home pay of staff through frequent vehicle repairs and maintenance.
The Chairman of SSANIP, Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti Chapter, Comrade Akomolafe Sunday, made the demand in a statement issued to journalists in Ado-Ekiti, stressing that workers should not be made to bear the financial consequences of inadequate public infrastructure.
Akomolafe said members of staff were already paying statutory taxes and other legitimate deductions from their salaries, yet they were being forced to spend substantial portions of their income repairing vehicles damaged while commuting to their workplace.
He described the recurring cost as an “unofficial tax on workers”, arguing that employees were effectively paying twice for the opportunity to report for duty.
He therefore proposed that the federal government consider a lawful fiscal relief mechanism for eligible workers of the Polytechnic pending the permanent rehabilitation of the road.
He said in part, “Our members should not be made to pay twice for going to work. They pay their statutory taxes and other legitimate deductions, yet they are compelled to spend a substantial part of their take-home pay repairing vehicles damaged on the road leading to their workplace.
“We are not asking our members to evade their civic responsibility. We are asking government to recognise the extraordinary burden being imposed on workers and provide a legitimate fiscal relief that will enable them cope with the situation while the road is being fixed.
“We appeal to government to come to the aid of our members. Fix the road and save our workers from the recurring cost of vehicle repairs. Until that is done, we appeal for tax relief as a practical palliative to cushion the financial burden on our members.
“Fix the road. Reduce the burden. Protect the workers. Improve productivity”.
