The four days industrial action embarked upon by public primary and secondary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State has been called off.
This is sequel to resolutions reached by State Government with the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, NUT, at the end of a closed-door meeting held late Sunday evening and presided over by the state Governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel at Government House, Uyo.
Briefing Government House Correspondents after the meeting, Commissioner for Labour and Manpower Development, Mr. Aniefiok Nkom, affirmed that government and the labour leaders have dialogued to a compromise on the issues that gave rise to the industrial action and described the resolution as a win-win outcome.
"It was a very peaceful meeting. The Governor saw what needed to be done and the NLC also saw what was delaying the process. So it was a win-win situation and the matters enumerated by NUT Chairman have been resolved," Nkom said.
On her part, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Idongesit Etiebet, expressed gratitude to Governor Emmanuel for taking prompt actions to ensure that schools in the state resume.
This, she added, was indicative of the premium Governor Emmanuel places on education and is workers-friendly disposition.
Confirming the resolution, the State Chairman of NUT, Comrade Edet Emenyi, lauded the Governor's disposition towards the teachers, assuring that teachers would return to classrooms for commencement of academic activities.
Emenyi said, "Issues bothering on teachers welfare and non payment of allowances have been resolved today.
“On that note, the teeming teachers in Akwa Ibom State are ready to call off the strike".
The State Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Sunny James, who was also present at the meeting, expressed the solidarity of Akwa Ibom workers with the teachers, saying that the teachers' demand for unpaid entitlements including leave grant, refund of 7.5% deductions for contributory pension and other issues were extensively deliberated upon and resolved accordingly.
He therefore expressed appreciation to the governor for his prompt response to the teachers’ demands, maintaining that the resolution would pave way for NUT to join other sectors of the state workforce in the celebration of the 2023 Workers Day.
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