Abuja — Nigeria's primary and secondary school teachers under the aegis of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) this morning commenced a nationwide strike action intended to force the Federal Government to issue approval circular on the new Teacher's Salary Structure (TSS).

The declaration of strike by teachers came in the wake of Federal Government's decision to set up a salary review commission to look into all demands for wage increase within the public service.

But the Federal Government has also warned that the strike action might be an exercise in futility as the Teachers' Salary Structure (TSS) which is the bone of contention cannot be implemented due to its finacial and constitutional implications of having a uniform wage structure for all teachers in the country.

Minister of State for Education 11, Hajiya A'ishatu Jibril Dukku said rather than demanding a circular proclaiming a Teachers Salary Structure, the Nigeria Union of Teachers should instead encourage their state chapters to press for improved conditions of service including housing and transportation allowances.

This pronouncement is coming on the heels of fresh revelations that the NUT might be chasing shadows in their pursuit of the Teachers Salary Structure as the National Council Education (NCE) which brought the controversial wage structure into being only recommended an enhanced salary package for teachers as a matter of policy but does not have the right to impose such a decision on either the Federal or State governments.

However, the NUT yesterday said they were resuming the suspended strike midnight Sunday, accusing the Federal Government of reneging on the promise to issue an enabling circular creating the Teachers Salary Structure (TSS).

The Deputy National President of NUT, Mr. Onem Nelson Onem, who addressed labour correspondents at the Labour House in Abuja, said with effect from 12 midnight yesterday, principals, head teachers and teachers of primary, secondary and command schools have been directed to withdraw their services.

"With effect from 12 midnight on Sunday June 29th, 2008, principals, head teachers and teachers of primary, secondary, technical, unity, special and command schools will withdraw their services", he said.

According to Onem, there will be no teaching, invigilation or marking of internal and external examinations and no state of the federation is exempted from the union's directive.He said the teachers are aggrieved that government has shown no respect for collective agreements arrived through negotiations having jettisoned the agreement it reached with teachers along with state governments on the new salary only to propose another stakeholders parley.

The teachers criticised the decision of the Federal Executive Council to the effect that the Teachers' Salary Structure would be subjected to another round of negotiations through a stakeholders discussion.

However, the Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan while addressing management and staff of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the Federal Executive Council has approved the establishment of a preliminary committee to work out modalities for a holistic approach to the issue of workers salary increase in the country.

"We think that the idea of every professional body or various sectors of the government public sector service asking for defferent salary structures based on their relevance will always create labour problems because when you give one , the other person will fight so the whole thing does not end", he said.

Jonathan said government is thinking of setting up a committee or commission that can look at it globally, taking into consideration all the various sectors of government so that every sector that think that it needs to be placed on a separate salary structure can make their own case.

He said the commission would at the end of the day be able to come up with a comprehensive recommendation that would be submitted to the President for approval and implementation.

"The commission would at the end of the day, be able to come up with a comprehensive recommendation so that at least when government approved that it will endure. We think that taking such a holistic approach is the best solution to the issue", he said.

The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and members of the labour civil society coalition said they would all offer full support to the strike action embarked upon by the teachers to ensure its effectiveness.