Strike called Off As Schools Resume in Ekiti

There is no end in sight to the ongoing strike by workers in Ekiti State which teachers in the state have also declared as total, writes AGBARA SYLVESTER The indefinite strike embarked upon by workers in Ekiti State on October 2 to protest against the two months’ salaries and allowances owed them by the outgoing administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi has taken a new twist. The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Teachers in the state toldSUNDAY PUNCHthat its members would only return to classes only when the government met all their demands. Organised labour unions under the leadership of the Joint Negotiating Council criticised the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state for what it described as its lack of concern about the plight of the striking civil servants. Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the JNC Chairman, Comrade Oladipupo Johnson, said August and September salaries had not been paid. He also said June and July deductions from the workers’ salaries had not been remitted by the government. Johnson said, “It is unfortunate to note that in spite of the pronouncement and promises from top government functionaries, there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. Sequel to the following, the workers of the public service had met and directed that no worker should go to work on October 2, 2014 and this subsists until all conditions are met. Any worker who refuses to obey this simple directive does so at his or her own risk since the leaders would not take responsibility for anything that happens.” Johnson, who said the council had engaged in a dialogue with the governor in the last three months to resolve the issue, expressed surprise that the workers were not paid even after he learnt that the government had received two allocations. “We don’t want to stay back and allow our people to be dying on the streets because we are gradually turning INTO beggars. The government has not paid our salaries in the last two months. This is why we ordered the workers to stay at home and look for alternative ways of existence. They are owing full salaries for August and September and 60 per cent deductions in the June and July salaries. And going by the evidence we had, the governor had collected two allocations without remembering that these salaries should be paid,” he added. According to him, the leadership of the JNC met with the Head of Service, the Accountant General and other relevant individuals and it was agreed that the salaries would be paid by October 1, 2014. Oladipupo stated, ‘’I want to state that the workers will resume work as soon as the two months salaries are paid as well as the June and July deductions.” The state Chairman of the NUT, Mr. Kayode Akosile, however vowed not to call off the strike notwithstanding JNC’s position in the coming days until the Fayemi-led administration met all their demands. He said, ‘’The strike was declared by Joint Negotiation Council, even if it suspends the strike, we will not comply. We have the right on our own to embark on strike. If the JNC did not call for the strike we could have declared it on our own because our demands are more than that of the civil servants. We have not been promoted since 2011. The majority of the civil servants have been promoted up till 2013. But teachers have yet to receive promotion letters for 2012. Thus, there are other issues affecting teachers in Ekiti State. These include: Irregular promotion and imprests for schools that are not forthcoming. It is not the first time that government paid the salaries of other workers and neglected teachers. This is divide and rule.’’ Stating that members of the union had become beggars because of the unpaid salaries, he added that many of them planned to use the money to pay their children’s school fees or settle hospital bills. He said, “But to our dismay, the government has been withholding deductions from our money and refused to pay us for August and September. Government paid salaries of local government workers and civil servants for August but did not pay the teachers. How do they want us to cater for our family? The hardship is much. We cannot continue to suffer in silence. If teachers are hungry, how would they teach effectively? This is why we decided that we cannot continue to suffer and smile,’’ Akosile said. He further said if government fulfilled its obligation to the striking teachers on time, there would be no reason for them to delay resumption even for a day. Akosile, who expressed satisfaction with government’s efforts at preventing an outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in the state, noted, “On that aspect, government has tried. It has organised seminars for teachers. The master trainers will go back to their schools to train other teachers. I also know that Personal Protective Equipment has been distributed to schools. So, if not for the non-payment of our salaries and the deductions, we would have returned to classes.’’ According to him, the leadership of the NUT in the state sent several representations to the government without anything coming out of the meetings. Besides, he said it would not augur well for teachers to always go cap in hands to the government before they get their deserved salaries. He stated, “The usual complaint is paucity of fund. If money is not available, we will understand. But when government pays one side and leaves the other, we won’t tolerate that. As regards to our outstanding promotion, government has always promised to do something.” He lamented that since teachers in the state had not embarked on any strike before, it was necessary for the government to accede to their legitimate demands. “We have never gone on strike because of all these problems confronting teachers. We have only been appealing and sending correspondences to government,” Akosile added. The NUT leader expressed disappointment that government had been making promises to the union without fulfilling them.