The resumption order to public school teachers in Oyo State by Governor Abiola Ajimobi has been described as a joke.
To the teachers, if the governor wants them to resume on Monday as directed, he should pay them the six months salary arrears they are being owed.
Ajimobi had, through the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Toye Arulogun, on Saturday, announced that the schools shut down, following protests by some students against perceived sale of their schools to private investors, should be re-opened on Monday.
However, the governor said 17 schools, of which the students participated in protests, remained shut until the students apologise to the state government through their Principals.
Speaking on behalf of the teachers, the state Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Waheed Olojede, said it was a joke for Ajimobi to direct the teachers to resume when they had not been paid any salary this year.
He said: “This reopening of schools does not, in any way, affect the ongoing strike in the state. Our struggle towards payment of arrears of salaries and pensions for workers and pensioners in the state is still potent and intact.
“The entire workers in the state, teachers in particular, will not return to work. They should wait for the directive from the national NLC that asked them out of work since June 16, 2016. Under no circumstance should any worker go to work until otherwise directed by labour leaders in the state.
“We have received invitation from the state government to attend a meeting on Tuesday at the office of the Head of Service to the state government. We are prepared to attend the meeting. We have resolved that government should inaugurate the two committees on labour and salaries on Tuesday and to commence work immediately.
“Our strike began before the closure of schools so, there is no link between the two. Teachers should not entertain any fear about their job. The strike is still on. We were not party to the closure of schools, so we don’t know anything about the government’s decision to reopen the schools”.
