Akwa Ibom teachers end 4-day strike as Udom bows to their demands for better welfare

From Ibom Effiong, Uyo

The four days of industrial action embarked upon by public primary and secondary school teachers in Akwa Ibom State have been called off.

This follows resolutions reached by the 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 the press after the meeting, the commissioner for labour and manpower development, Mr Aniefiok Nkom, affirmed that the government and the labour leaders had 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 the 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 Gov Emmanuel places on education as his workers-friendly disposition.

The state chairman of NUT, Comrade Edet Emenyi, lauded the governor’s disposition towards the teachers and assured them that teachers would return to classrooms for the commencement of academic activities.

According to Emenyi; “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 grants, 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 the way for NUT to join other sectors of the state workforce in the celebration of the 2023 Workers Day.