The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) in the Federal Ministry of Education and the Unity Schools declared a strike action on September 22 following Federal Government’s failure to, among others, pay salary arrears, provide better conditions of service and promote workers as at when due.
The Issues
Investigations reveal that
all the staff of the 104 Unity Schools, Federal Inspectorate Offices and the
Federal Ministry of Education headquarters commenced the strike at the
expiration of a three-month grace period given to Minister Shekarau to meet
their demands.
According to the Organising
Secretary, ASCSN, Musa Abbas, there would be no compromise until the demands of
the workers are met.
Abbas said: “Our grouse is
that we want our entitlements paid to us. We have been dialoguing with management
since 2007 and all we keep getting are promises, yet they collect money from
government but refuse to pay us our promotion allowances, repatriation
allowances, death benefits and so on.
“These allowances, which
have accumulated over the years, include, but are not limited to, outstanding
promotion arrears for 2007-2010 and the balance of 2011; arrears of salaries to
some staff for July, August, September, and October 2013; end-of-year
incentives; non-payment of first 28 days in lieu of hotel accommodation; 2010
mandatory training; repatriation allowance; duty tour allowance to affected
officers, among others.”
Though the sum of
N527,643,440.00 (five hundred and twenty-seven million, six hundred and
forty-three thousand, four hundred and forty-four Naira) has been released by
the Budget Office to the Central Bank of Nigeria for onward transmission to the Federal Ministry of Education to start
the payment of the first batch of promotion arrears, ASCSN’s Secretary General,
Alade Lawal, and the Chairman, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Federal
Government Wing, Comrade Emeka Okonta, both said the strike continues until
there is proof of payment from our members.
Okonta, who was among those
owed their salaries between July and October 2013, when the Integrated Payroll
System was introduced by the government, said government must show some
seriousness in offsetting the arrears so as not to jeopardise the future of the
students.
Though the striking workers
have good reasons to embark on the strike, it has caused sadness and pains for
affected parents and students, especially as other students are in school.
One of such parents is Mrs.
Joy Chukwu, whose son is at home said:
“gone are the days when teaching at any FGC was dream come true; when attending
FGC was a thing of pride. It is so sad that these unity schools are now shadows
of their former selves and, unfortunately, that damage seems irreparable.
Government ought to take drastic and urgent steps to reverse this situation
before it is too late.”
Mrs. Omotolani Oyewale,
whose daughter is in Queens College, Yaba, said “I’m not happy with the situation of things because other students are
in schools except those in Unity Schools. Can you imagine the stress we went
through to take our kids back to school only for us to be called the next day
to come and take them home. Since it is government that ordered schools to
resume September 22, the same government should meet their demands so that our
children can go back to school too.”
For Mr. Joe Adewale,
keeping students at home is tantamount to playing with the future of our
children.
“Initially,
schools were shut because of Ebola; now that other schools have resumed, unity
schools are still shut because of government’s failure to pay the workers their
entitlements. What they have failed to realise is that they are toying with the
future of these children because nature abhors vacuum and if they are not
occupied with academic activities, it would take the grace of God to keep them
positively occupied.”
Sham eeeeeeeeeeee
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