Teachers suspend strike after council boss writes undertaking

Primary school teachers in Gwagwalada Area Council have suspended their strike following an undertaking written by the chairman of the council, Alhaji Adamu Mustapha, in which he promised to pay them their promotion arrears. A copy of the undertaking, which was obtained by Aso Chronicle indicated that the chairman signed and agreed to implement the […]

Primary school teachers in Gwagwalada Area Council have suspended their strike following an undertaking written by the chairman of the council, Alhaji Adamu Mustapha, in which he promised to pay them their promotion arrears.

A copy of the undertaking, which was obtained by Aso Chronicle indicated that the chairman signed and agreed to implement the 2016 promotion arrears of the teachers in the April 2019 salary voucher.

“Based on the above undertaking, I solemnly and passionately appeal to the union to call off the strike action immediately and allow our children to return to school,” he said.

Our reporter gathered that  pupils could not attend schools on the first day of resumption due to the industrial action by the teachers.

The  primary school teachers, it was learnt, started the strike last Friday but called it off on Monday after the area council chairman agreed to meet their demands which included the implementation and payment of promotion arrears since 2015.

One of the teachers in the area council, who pleaded anonymity, said the teachers went on strike due to the inability of the area council to meet up with its obligations on the payment of the promotion arrears since 2015.

“Those that were promoted in 2015, they refused to pay them their arrears and the last promotion in 2016 they did not implement it not to talk of the payment of the arrears,” he said.

He said the teachers also met with the council boss in January where he promised to pay in February but also failed.

Reacting, the chairman of the FCT NUT, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, said the union entered into agreement with the authorities of the council on the payment of 2015 promotion arrears and the implementation of 2016 promotion .

He said the union met several times with the authorities of the council after the agreement, and it was agreed that the payment of the arrears would be with effect from February, 2019.

“We wrote letters of reminder to the chairman; in fact, we have about two to three letters to this effect without any response.”

According to him, the teachers decided to suspend the strike after the council chairman called to make a passionate appeal that the FCT chapter should intervene.

“I therefore called a meeting of exco members of the branch, state officers and I also invited the council chairman who sent his council secretary and vice chairman to represent him. It was at that meeting they wrote an undertaking that they will pay when April salary is paid,” he added.