FCT Primary School Teachers Suspend Strike Over Unpaid Arrears

Primary school teachers under the Local Education Authority (LEA) in the FCT have suspended their ongoing strike action over non-payment of their 40 percent peculiar allowance and 25 months minimum wage arrears for 2019 by the six area council chairmen.

Primary school teachers had embarked on strike since September 11, 2023, following a directive by the FCT wing of the NUT in a communique jointly signed by its chairman, Comrade Stephen Knabayi, secretary, Comrade Margaret I. Jethro and public relation officer (PRO) Haruna Samson, over non-payment of its members 40 peculiar allowance and 25 months minimum wage arrears for 2019.

Knabayi made this known while addressing newsmen after the State Executive Committee (SWEC) meeting, which ended around 5:40:pm yesterday, at Teachers’ House in Gwagwalada area council.

He said the union decided to suspend the strike action for six weeks to enable the government to address primary school teachers’ demands.

“So, after an intensive SWEC meeting of the union, we looked at the position of an appeal of the government and decided to suspend the ongoing teachers’ strike for six weeks to enable them to address our demands,” he said.

According to him, among the major teachers’ demands included the 40 percent peculiar allowance and 25 months minimum wage arrears for 2019, which the government has promised to address.

“On that note, we decided that the ongoing strike should be suspended for six weeks from today Monday, 25th September, 2023, to give the government enough window to package backlogs of the teachers’ arrears and other entitlements,” he added.