The chairman of the Enugu chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, Comrade Theodore Odo has said that unless the government pays minimum wage to teachers, the indefinite strike primary school teachers embarked upon three weeks ago would continue. Primary school teachers and local government workers in Enugu State declared an indefinite strike in July to force the state government to pay them the national minimum wage of N30,000, which the state started paying civil servants in February 2021.
However, primary school teachers, local government workers and workers in the state parastatals were excluded from the payment. The state government had argued that the teachers were under the payroll of local governments. Meanwhile, local governments lack the financial power to implement the payment of the minimum wage. Addressing journalists on Tuesday, the NUT chairman vowed that the strike would continue until the teachers were paid minimum wage.
Odo said, “Yes, the strike is still on. It will go on unless they pay the minimum wage to the primary school teachers and the local government workers.”
Meanwhile, local government chairmen and the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, have not said anything about the lingering strike which has prevented primary school pupils from taking their third term examination. A local government employee, Mrs Eze Roseline said, “We are serious this time around. Unless they start paying us the minimum wage, the strike will continue.
“We heard that the state governor has sworn that the local government workers and the primary school teachers will never get the minimum wage.”
Meanwhile, local government chairmen and the state governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, have not said anything about the lingering strike which has prevented primary school pupils from taking their third term examination. A local government employee, Mrs Eze Roseline said, “We are serious this time around. Unless they start paying us the minimum wage, the strike will continue.
“We heard that the state governor has sworn that the local government workers and the primary school teachers will never get the minimum wage.”
