The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT), Plateau State Chapter has suspended with immediate effect its six months old strike in Plateau State. While the strike lasted six months in the state as a whole, in some Local Governments, it lasted 10 months
Confirming the suspension exclusively to www.pointblank.com.ng, the NUT Chairman of Langtang North, Comrade Gangtim Gangven said “yes it’s true, we have suspended the strike all over the state. Classes are to resume tomorrow, 26/2/2024”
Shedding more lights on the reasons for the industrial disharmony, Com Gangven listed Lack of Unified Payment, Promotion, Implementation of 2020 Promotion, GL 7, 8 and 9 Teachers receiving the same amount of salary, Grossly Low Teachers – Pupils Ratio
“Teachers were been segregated and treated as second class citizens at the Local Governments level. For example, when other Local Government staff were paid up to October salary, teachers were begging to be paid January salary. That is not acceptable” lamented comrade Gangven
NUT added that “promotions were stagnated and even the ones released in 2020 were not implemented. Teachers on Grade Levels 7, 8 & 9 were paid the same fixed salary as if they were artisans on a construction site. Even workers on construction site have varying wages based on their specialty”
Comr Gangven also lamented a pitiable situation where a whole primary school will have only one teacher. NUT is therefore insisting that more teachers must be employed because the ones on ground have been depleted by dead, transfer of service and retirement.
The teachers’ leader however, appreciated the State Governor, Barr Caleb Manasseh Mutfwang and Langtang North Council Chairman, Hon Nanmwa Godwin Kumzhi for their efforts in ending the strike
He said “we are grateful to Hon Nanmwa Godwin Kumzhi for meeting some of our demands. He inherited our problems from his predecessor but showed leadership by solving some of our problems. We’re confident that he will meet the other outstanding demands”
www.pointblank.com.ng, can exclusively report that while the strike lasted, the State lost significantly from the Universal Basic Education Commission Survey which is conducted across the nation. The survey helps in fixing allocations to the Local Governments based on the number of pupils in the Council.
