The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) on Thursday directed teachers in the 11 states that had not implement the 27.5 per cent Teachers Peculiar Allowance to begin an indefinite strike from June 1.
The NUT National President, Michael Olukoya, gave the directive at the end of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja.
The meeting was held to discuss the pending strike to enforce the payment of the allowance and the 2011 approved National Minimum Wage.
“With effect from June 1, 2013, we are aware that it falls on a Saturday, but all teachers should disengage from any work that will make them to come to school as from this Saturday.
“Be it examination, social engagements in schools, all activities should be disengaged from Friday midnight.
“All the services of teachers in those states where the issue of the 27. 5 per cent and the minimum wage is still on should stay off school, you are hereby so directed, ’’Olukoya said.
Olukoya said that the leaderships of the states had continued to default to pay the long overdue allowance and the 2011 approved wage to teachers in their states.
He said the states were Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Ogun, Edo, Taraba, Kogi, Niger and Zamfara.
According to him, the national executive council has directed that no state has the right to call off or suspend the strike until cleared by the National Secretariat of the union.
He recalled that in August 2008, the Federal Executive Council passed the peculiar allowance for teachers and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum successfully negotiated with the union and was made payable with effect from January 2009.
The NUT boss said it was unfortunate that the intervention of federal authorities were still being disregarded by state governors.
He, however, said that the second leg of the pending strike was hinged on the non-payment of the 2011 minimum wage of N18,000.
“We discovered that minimum wage has been paid to other workers, leaving teachers in the cold. This is unacceptable.
“No, we cannot afford to remain a laughing stock of our members who are quick to see as toothless bulldogs.’’
Olukoya said that the Federal Government was to be blamed for the non-payment of the salary relativity package of July 2010, which denied teachers the minimum wage.
Olukoya appealed to stakeholders in the education sector to call on the state governments to pay the allowance and the minimum wage.
“This strike will not abate until the union has witnessed the payment of these long outstanding packages to teachers.
“We have sufficiently exploited the opportunities that negotiation offers but all have failed.
“We hope that this inevitable action of the union will open the ears of the authorities in those states so that they can effect changes and payments made.
“We also call on our respective state wings to mobilise our teachers toward a successful strike to restore teachers’ integrity and honour at this time.’’
He said that the NUT was collaborating with the organised labour to ensure that the aims and objectives of the union were achieved.
