The four days of industrial action embarked upon by public primary and secondary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State has been called off.
This is due to the resolution, that the state government reached with the leadership of Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) at the end of a closed-door meeting, held on Sunday and presided over by the governor, Udom Emmanuel, at the Government House, Uyo.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Commissioner for Labour and Manpower Development, Aniefiok Nkom, affirmed that government and labour leaders have dialogued and resolved issues that gave rise to the industrial action, describing it as a win-win outcome.
“It was a peaceful meeting. The governor saw what needed to be done, and NUT also saw what was delaying the process. So, it was a win-win situation, and the matters enumerated by the NUT chairman have been resolved,” Nkom said.
On her part, the Commissioner for Education, Idongesit Etiebet, expressed gratitude to the governor for taking prompt actions to ensure schools in the state resume.
This, she said, was indicative of the premium Emmanuel places on education and his workers-friendly disposition.
Confirming the resolution, the state Chairman of NUT, Edet Emenyi, lauded the governor’s disposition towards teachers, assuring that teachers would return to classrooms for commencement of academic activities.
Emenyi said: “Issues bothering on teachers’ welfare and non-payment of allowances have been resolved today.
“On that note, teachers in the state are ready to call off the strike.”
Meanwhile, the state Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Sunny James, who was also present at the meeting, expressed solidarity of Akwa Ibom workers with teachers, saying that teachers’ demand for unpaid entitlements, including leave grant, refund of 7.5 per cent deductions for contributory pension and other issues, were extensively deliberated upon and resolved accordingly.
He, therefore, expressed appreciation to the governor for his prompt response to the teachers’ demands, maintaining that the resolution would pave way for NUT to join other sectors of the state workforce in celebration of the 2023 Workers Day.
Source: The Guardian