Lagos NUT Defies Appeals, Down Tools

Despite the appeals Parents of Pupils in public schools in
Lagos to the National Union of Teachers (NUT) to shelve their indefinite strike
action, the state secretary of NUT Lagos state Comrade, Momodu Braimah said
there was no alternative to the strike action by the union.

Comrade Braimah stated this in a statement issued by the
union.

He said, “there is no going back on the union’s strike
action, we still stand on our  grounds of
27.5 percent or we remain at home.”

Comrade Braimah said that the union members have been
directed to stay at home from schools, stressing that the union would not call
off the strike action except the government listened to their demands.

The union’s secretary said that the leadership of the union
had given Lagos state government several opportunities to prevent  the strike action by the union but to no
avail.

He said “NUT leadership had given the government some time
to act but they paid a deaf ear, so, we have exhausted all peaceful means to
avoid the strike action by members of the NUT in Lagos.”

Also speaking, the NUT Lagos State Chairman, Comrade Sampson
Idowu said that teachers in Lagos public schools were only paid nine per cent
of the allowance which was approved in 2008 for members of the NUT nationwide.

He said that Lagos state has only implemented 9 per cent of
the 27.5per cent teachers’ allowance approved since 2008, which 17 states have
implemented.”

The Chairman said that the Union would convey the strike
action to the National leadership of the NUT, Abuja.

It would be recalled that the federal and state governments
in 2000 had signed agreement with the National leadership of the National Union
of Teachers on the implementation of the 27.5 per cent teachers’ allowance
nationwide but only 17 state governments have effectively implemented the
agreement on the allowance payable to the NUT members.