Ernest Chinwo Calabar and Imam Imam
10 June 2008
Gusau — Another round of crisis may soon hit primary and secondary schools across the country, as the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed its members to go on a three-day warning strike, beginning today, to persuade the Federal Government to implement the Teachers Salary Scale (TSS).
The union disclosed, at its east regional working committee meeting in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, at the weekend, that the warning strike may lead to an indefinite strike, if government fails to implement the salary scale that both parties agreed on 15 years ago.
Regional Chairman and Secretary, Chief Chris Oruge and Comrade Kenneth Awagu, in a communiqué said the three days warning strike would be observed nation wide.
The union condemned Federal Government's undue delay in implementing the TSS, despite the fact that the union exhausted all legal, professional and bureaucratic procedures to actualise it.
"The East therefore, is fully in support of the National Executive Council of NUT in the 21-day ultimatum issued the Federal Government for the implementation of the TSS, with effect from Wednesday, May 28, 2008", it stated.
It urged teachers from the region to join their counterparts nationwide in the proposed three-day warning strike as an expression of total objection to the manner the government of Nigeria is treating teachers.
The union lamented its inability to secure the establishment and implementation of the TSS for her members, despite its over 15 years of struggle, assurance and re-assurance by successive governments in Nigeria .
"It became even more regrettable that least struggles by other sectors have yielded bountiful salary packages to their workers. Teachers of Nigeria remain forgotten and reduced to professional obsolesce. It is now time for action and not rhetoric."
It disclosed that in the last two decades, teachers had struggled for a separate condition of service and salary structure. In 1991, a memorandum was sent to the Federal Government, followed by a four-week strike that produced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In 1995, the union was again forced to embark on another strike to press home its demands, this prompted government to set up an inter-ministerial committee to work out the implementation of the TSS.
Meanwhile, the Zamfara State government has vowed to deal decisively with any of its teachers that joins the strike. A statement made available to journalists in Gusau and signed by the Commissioner for Education, Sanda Muhammad Danjari said any decision to embark on strike at this point in time is not only illegal, but counter-productive.
He said under labour rules, all workers must notify their employees of any decision to embark on strike at least three weeks before the commencement of the industrial action. "Even at that, they must have explored the dialogue option before embarking on strike."
"It is pertinent to note that the state wing of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) had neither sent any letter to the state Ministry of Education nor the office of the Executive Governor on any issue that led the union t support the national strike on Teachers Salary Scale (TSS) since the inception of this administration.
"Government therefore wishes to state categorically that, any teacher that to stay home during the three days warning strike would face the full wrath of the law. A team of inspectors from the state Ministry of Education would be sent to various primary and post-primary institutions across the state in order to ascertain the names of the absconding teachers during the period of the strike."
"We have never failed in our responsibilities to our workers, teachers inclusive. Zamfara state government is committed to improving the welfare of teachers in our institutions. That was why when this administration came on board, it approved 20% salary increase for teachers, in addition to the 15 percent increase made to all civil servants across the state," the statement added.
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I hope the zanfara commissioner knew that he was not talking to school pupils. He should put himself in the teacher's shoe. For 15 years not inplimentation of an agreement, and he is saying they should not ask for their right. The only language understand by Nigerian government is strike. Zanfara teacher should please join the strike. This is democracy.