In protest of the N30,000 minimum pay and promotion backlogs, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has vowed to start an indefinite strike in Bayelsa’s public elementary and secondary schools.
The union made the choice on October 12 during an executive meeting after a previous three-day warning strike failed to persuade the Bayelsa Government to take action.
The administration and local councils had been given a 14-day deadline by the teachers to address the predicament of teachers throughout the state or risk strike action.
The NUT lists the state and local governments’ incapacity to implement the N30,000 minimum salary and to promote elementary school teachers in the state as two of its issues.
The organization said that because promotion arrears were not paid to the teachers, they went through unimaginable suffering.
The NUT voiced its displeasure with the government’s continued disregard for the predicament of teachers who play important roles in the state despite futile attempts to engage them in various fora.
It said that the state’s elementary and secondary school teachers had experienced nothing but embarrassment and frustration as a result of the government’s approach.
It stated that the 14-day ultimatum went into effect on October 13 and that if the problems weren’t resolved within that time, state teachers would be forced to strike.
The strike notice was approved by all eight of the NUT’s local government sections in Bayelsa.
Chairmen of the LG chapters of the union were among those who signed the communiqué issued following the conference.
Dr. Gentle Emelah, the Bayelsa Commissioner for Education, did not answer calls or texts asking the administration to clarify the situation.
According to NAN, Bayelsa’s schools departed on August 29 owing to a predicted flood and are scheduled to reopen on November 13.
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