FCT teachers give final condition to call off strike

Primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) say they will  call off their prolonged strike if they receive payment alert of their outstanding salaries.

The industrial action, which began in March, has persisted despite several efforts to resolve the impasse.

On Thursday, the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, held a meeting with representatives of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) from all six area councils in a bid to address the prolonged strike. The dialogue took place at the minister’s official residence.

At the conclusion of the meeting, union representatives reiterated their demand that payment of salary arrears and other entitlements must be fulfilled before any consideration would be given to ending the strike.

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Speaking to journalists after a session of the union’s State Wing Executive Council (SWEC), Chairman of the FCT chapter of the NUT, Abdullahi Shafas, emphasized the teachers’ collective position.

“Our members are ready to go back to their classes any moment they start receiving alerts. In fact, even if it is this evening alerts start coming in, the union will call off the strike,” he said.

The industrial action stems from the non-payment of accumulated salary arrears, unfulfilled entitlements, and the delayed implementation of the N70,000 new minimum wage.

Shafas acknowledged Wike’s recent intervention, particularly the suspension of 10 percent of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) allocations to the six area councils for the past six months, which he described as a response to the councils’ failure to address the teachers’ grievances.

“The Minister has also in his own wisdom also set up a committee to look into other pending demands of the teachers,” he added.

The union had previously entered into three separate agreements with the area council chairmen, but those commitments have reportedly been abandoned, further deepening the crisis.