Following the intervention of the FCT Minister, Mr. Nyesom Wike, the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal Capital Territory Wing, has paused its ongoing protest for a period of six weeks.
The suspension was verified by the union’s chairman, Stephen Knabayi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.
According to Knabayi, the strike was put on hold from October 2 to November 13 in order to carry out agreements made between the FCT minister and the chairmen of the six Area Councils.
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According to NAN, the NUT in the FCT went on an indefinite strike on September 11 in protest of unpaid 40 percent special and other pending allowances.
Other issues raised by the instructors included the failure to pay the agreed national minimum wage for 2019 that is 25 months overdue, as well as the failure to apply some published promotion letters and release some promotion letters to beneficiaries.
Other problems included the failure of some councils to pay promotion arrears, upgrade concerned teachers, implement payments for improved teachers, and implement annual salary increases.
They claimed, among other things, that the agreement on paying the teacher’s entitled backlog was not being followed.
According to Knabayi, the minister’s intervention led to an agreement being made between the striking teachers and the Chairmen of the six Area Councils, which led to the suspension of the strike.
A six-man group was also established and inaugurated, he continued, in order to find a long-term solution to the problems.
“After the FCT minister intervened, we changed our minds and decided to call off the strike.
“We continued our strike because of seven problems. We have an agreement for the implementation of five of them beginning in October.
“The minister has committed to intervene with a plan for their execution in four weeks on the other two concerns, unique allowances and payment of minimum wage arrears.
So, he explained, “we put the strike on hold for six weeks so the minister could act and make sure the agreements were carried out.
The chairman applauded Wike for his “timely and impactful” intervention.
There was nothing on the ground before; there was simply no hope.
“A committee is working as I talk to you, and it will soon present its findings to the minister.
Additionally, Mr. Abubakar Abdullahi, the chairman of the Abaji Council, has already started paying instructors. This demonstrates their willingness to uphold the agreement, according to Knabayi.
One of the main problems hurting the relationship between the union and the council chairmen, according to him, is a lack of communication.
“Teachers are patient, understanding, and can tolerate delays in payment of their entitlement when they are aware of a plan to pay,” said Knabayi.
He emphasised that they were forced to go on strike since no one was informing them of their rights or the timing of their payments.
