FCT primary school teachers move to end three-month strike

Striking primary school teachers in the federal capital territory (FCT) have agreed to end their ongoing three months industrial action.

Chidi Amadi, the chief of staff (CoS) to Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, said the decision to end the strike was reached at the end of a meeting with the chairmen of the six area councils and the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT).

Other participants at the meeting, included representatives of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANs) and the national assembly.

Primary school teachers across the six FCT area councils commenced the strike in March over the non-implementation of the new minimum wage.

Other issues included non-implementation and payment of 25 percent and 35 percent salary increase and non-implementation and payment of a 40 percent peculiar allowance.

The union was also demanding the payment of the N35,000 wage award and the implementation of the template on outstanding entitlements of teachers as agreed in 2022.
Amadi said Wike convened the meeting in addition to previous interventions to find a lasting solution to the prolonged teachers’ strike.

He noted that part of the resolution is to withhold the 10 percent accrued internally generated revenue (IGR) of the area councils for the past six months.
He explained that the funds would be used to settle 70 percent of the minimum wage owed to the teachers.

“Although it will not cover 100 per cent of the debt for now, it will cover about 70 per cent. This is a laudable move towards addressing the fracas once and for all,” Amadi said.

The chief of staff added that the minister had also directed that a special committee be constituted, composed of three members of NUT, two members from FCTA, one of the area council chairmen and a representative of the NANs.

He added that the committee would revisit all the other outstanding issues and, within the next two weeks, submit a report detailing how the other outstanding issues would be permanently addressed.

“In addition to addressing the issues of the primary school teachers, Wike had taken a decision to address all outstanding issues of the local government employees,” Amadi said.

“The minister pledged to personally intervene to ensure that their demands are addressed by the FCTA.
“This is to ensure that the area councils resume full operations effective immediately.

Speaking on behalf of the area council chairmen, Abubakar Abdullahi acknowledged the resolution, saying, “although it was not in favour of the area councils, it was necessary to resolve the issues.”
“Six months of our IGR had been held to settle this issue. Ours at this point is to appeal to NUT to consider our children and call off the strike,” he added.

“Please NUT, we are calling on you to respect the fact that the minister has taken his time to resolve this matter.
“Wike had clearly stated that by law, he has no right to take the 10 per cent IGR of the area councils to clear the outstanding debt of the teachers.

“However, the chairmen have all agreed because they also, collectively, want an end to the strike, and so we have agreed that the 10 per cent IGR should go to the teachers.”
Olushola Oladoja, the president of NANS, lauded the resolutions and expressed hope that the outcome would finally put the matter to rest and the teachers would return to class.

Oladoja commended the minister for taking the bold step, stressing that any of the council chairmen could take him to court over such a decision.

“However, I believe because the council chairmen also want the issue resolved, they have no option but to concede the IGR for six months,” he said.

Mohammed Shafa, the NUT chairman in the FCT, acknowledged the deliberation, but said he would get back to the union’s state executive council, where the final decision would be taken.