Despite has come for millions of Nigerian children in the basic education sub-sector as the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has suspended the four-week old nationwide strike for two weeks.

The NLC President, Comrade Abdulwaheed Ibrahim Omar, disclosed this to LEADERSHIP yesterday in Abuja.

This is coming as the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has rejected the move by the Federal Government to remove subsidy on petroleum products by January, 2009.

According to Omar, Nigerians are paying through their nose for the petroleum product, arguing that if the government should remove the subsidy, it would be disastrous and a heavy financial burden on the masses.

He noted that any attempt to tamper with the price of the products would be resisted by the union and the general public.

Omar explained at a press briefing after the NLC National Executive Council (NEC) meeting yesterday in Abuja that negotiation is still ongoing between the Governor's Forum and the NUT National Executive Council (NEC). They were still deliberating on the issue as at the time of filing this report.

He, however, explained it is a two weeks grace, within which the union expects a positive response from the Federal Government on the Implementation of the new Teachers Salary Structure.

The development was an aftermath of the meeting between the leadership of NUT and the Governors Forum held in Abuja on Monday.

The NUT had given a hint of a possible suspension of the industrial action, which had crippled the primary and secondary schools in the whole federation, with the attendant setbacks such as suspension of National Examination Council (NECO) Senior Secondary School exams, as well as the National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE).

The struggle by the NUT for the implementation of the Teachers Salary Structure (TSS) had taken a different turn when the Federal Government admitted it could not prevail on the various state governments to implement the TSS. The argument was that education was on the concurrent list of the Nigerian Constitution and as such the Federal Government would not overstep its boundaries by meddling in the affairs of the states.

Another reason given was that a cursory look at the TSS revealed that not all states would be able to shoulder the financial burden of paying additional allowances, which was pegged at 27.5 percent by the NUT.

The NUT leadership had insisted that the government must issue an enabling circular, with which they could use as a negotiating benchmark at the state level, to make case for their colleagues, who are in the employment of state governments.

Severally, the NUT leadership, with the backing of the NLC, had held several meetings with the government to seek a lasting solution, but such meetings always ended in a deadlock, with teachers insisting on having their way.

The two parties remained in a long-drawn battle for four weeks, until the state governors decided to wade into the matter to save the sector from further relapse into deeper crises.

According to Omar, "Specifically, issue of strike action and impending strike in the country by various trade unions, Congress has noticed that recently National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) had reason to embark on industrial action, called off strike and is even contemplating to resume the strike apparently because of the non-concern of government.

"Medical and health workers and other unions in the health sector are contemplating going on strike. RATTAWU and NUJ have already indicated their intention to go on strike and in fact have given ultimatum to government.

"Specifically, the NUT have been on strike for over three weeks now, and indications are clear that government has not shown sufficient concern to the plight of teachers despite consistent calls from various quarters for government to ensure the problem is resolved amicably.

"NLC had course to intervene in the strike of the teachers, taking part in various negotiations and discussions with different arms of government. Finally the NUT has secured an understanding with Governors' Forum and the Governor's Forum had agreed to negotiate with the teachers centrally regarding the TSS.

"Consequently, the teachers and the Governor's Forum have signed a communiqué, which was witnessed by the NLC.

"The hope is that governors and governments will keep faith to the agreement that they are going to negotiate the issues of the TSS centrally with Nigerian Union of Teachers. We call on the Governors' Forum to ensure that they do not behave like normal politicians.

"Teachers have seen reasons with the Governors' Forum and have accepted their pleas and decided that teachers should go back to the classes while negotiations go on. We have been made to understand that the NUT on their NEC this afternoon decided to suspend their strike and have given the Governors Forum about two weeks within which negotiations are carried out regarding the TSS and its implementation.

"The Congress is therefore congratulating in advance the Nigerian teachers for a very successful fight, and we wish to assure them that Congress would continue to be with them in their just fight for their right.

"On energy sector, the Congress has expressed concern over the continued darkness we experience all over the country. The power sector is still in the woods and we believe government should do much better in ensuring that Nigerians get constant light for that matter.

"Congress also expressed concern about the growing increase in the diesel price and called for immediate resolution of this problem by ensuring constant supply and also making sure that monopoly is broken by whatever means. Congress has decided that in order to ensure that supplies continue to reach their destinations, state Councils and affiliates of the Congress have been empowered to ensure that they monitor supplies to their destination and to ensure that such commodities would not be siphoned in the night as is the case now.

"On the payment of monetization of arrears the payment of which have been negotiated and agreed to with the Joint Committee of the Federal Government and the Congress since late last year is still lingering. Congress has expressed concern that this issue, which has been settled long ago, is till lingering and called on the Federal Government to keep faith to the agreement that monetization of arrears be paid immediately.

Congress has now called on government to ensure that the issue of lack of money or the issue of non-inclusion of monetization arrears' payment in the budget constitute a hindrance. Congress is now calling on federal government to ensure that supplementary budget is presented before the National Assembly for the payment of monetisation arrears before the end of this year".