Ekiti teachers on strike over unpaid salaries

All public primary schools in Ekiti State were yesterday shut down, as teachers began two-day warning strike over unpaid salaries and entitlements.

The striking teachers were protesting non-payment of the 2014 Leave Bonus and the outstanding September, 2014 salary, which the former administration of Dr. Kayode Fayemi owed them.

Justifying the strike action, which paralysed academic activities in primary schools, the Ekiti State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Mr Samuel Akosile, said it was quite disturbing that the allowances under contention, were not captured in the bailout released by the federal government to Ekiti recently.

Akosile stated that the agitation for the payment of the entitlements by the state government, which other workers had received, had been on for some time, regretting that the Fayose-led government has not treated their demands with fairness.

The NUT boss clarified that the fact that the secondary school teachers did not join the strike doesn’t connote that there is division, saying their rank is intact and that there is no crack within the union.

He, however, hinted that the primary school teachers and local government workers collect their salaries from the same source, alleging that Fayemi decided to leave out the September, 2014 salary to punish them for their roles during the last governorship poll.

“This agitation has been on but I pleaded with my people to dialogue first.