FCT Primary School Teachers Resume Indefinite Strike Over Unfulfilled Wage Promises

Primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), under the umbrella of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), have announced the resumption of indefinite strike action, effective Monday, March 24, 2025.

This decision comes after the teachers received their February 2025 salaries without implementing the promised N70,000 minimum wage.

The strike was discussed and confirmed in a communique after an emergency State Wing Standing Committee (SWSC) meeting held in Gwagwalada on Saturday, March 22, 2025.

The meeting addressed the payment discrepancies, particularly the failure to include the new national minimum wage in the recent salary disbursement.

“The Union finds it worrisome the constant and flagrant disregard for agreements reached with the Area Council Chairmen in FCT,” the communique stated.

The communique emphasised that one of the critical agreements made during previous negotiations was the implementation of the new minimum wage for primary school teachers in February 2025, which formed the basis for suspending the previous strike.

The union expressed disappointment over the payment process, stating, “The payment of February salary by the councils without recourse to the union and the new minimum wage is disturbing, disheartening, and lacking in sympathy for the plight of primary school teachers in the FCT.”

The SWSC questioned the ongoing financial burden on teachers, asking, “Why the continuous impoverishing of the impoverished? Why impose continuous hardship and suffering on the teachers and their families? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!.”

The communique outlined several demands, including the immediate implementation of the national minimum wage in February salaries and the payment of the differential between the old and new wages.

“The payment of March salaries according to the new minimum wage. Disbursement of six months’ worth of minimum wage arrears as previously agreed.

“Immediate steps towards implementing various allowances, including a 40 per cent peculiar allowance and additional salary increases,” the communique stated.

Union members were urged to adhere to these demands and await further directives, while parents were advised to keep their children at home during the strike.

Speaking to journalists after the meeting, FCT NUT chairman Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas expressed dissatisfaction with the area council chairmen’s failure to honour their commitments.

“We suspended our strike on February 21, 2025, in good faith, under the assurance that the new minimum wage would be implemented in February,” Shafas stated.

He described the decision to process February salaries without incorporating the new wage as “disturbing, disheartening, and lacking in empathy” for the challenges faced by primary school teachers.