The Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has suspended the strike by members in public primary and secondary schools across the state.
This was revealed in a statement issued on Sunday in Uyo, the state capital, by the state’s NUT Chairman, Edet Emenyi, and secretary, Victor Amirize.
On March 15, members of the union began an indefinite strike over the government’s refusal to pay their leave payments since 2017 and the non-payment of 7.5 percent contributory pension refunds, among other grievances.
According to the NUT chairman and secretary, the strike was called off after a meeting between a government team led by Governor Udom Emmanuel and the union’s leadership.
They said the government has agreed to commence the immediate payment of leave grants to teachers for 2017 and 2018.
Emenyi and Amirize added that the government has also resolved to commence the payment of one-month minimum wage arrears to primary schools teachers.
“These understandings were arrived: the installment payment of 2019, 2020, and 2021 leave grants to primary school teachers,” the statement said.
“Payment of promotion arrears for six years 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016 to primary school teachers. Immediate commencement of 2019, 2020, 2021 promotion exercise to teachers.”
The union’s leadership thanked the teachers, as well as parents and students in the state for their understanding throughout the period of the strike and prayed that the government would keep its side of the agreements reached.
It directed all teachers in primary and secondary schools across the state to resume normal academic activities from Monday, March 21.