Cross River: Public Schools Deserted Over Teachers Strike

STRIKING public primary and secondary school teachers in Cross River state are still at home despite pleas by the state government for the teachers to return to work.

The teachers had on Thursday last week commenced a five-day warning strike saying, “The government has up to Wednesday 27 June 2018 to meet all our demands. If all the demands are not met, then teachers in public schools should sit at home until government implements all it had promised and agreed with the NUT.”

The teachers had alleged government's insensitivity to their 13-point agreement they entered with government since 2016. Some of the demands include payment of arrears to primary school teachers who were dropped from payroll since 2016, release of promotion letters to primary teachers, complete implementation of promotion to all secondary teachers, correction of discrepancy in payment of salaries to primary school teachers, remittance of NUT check off dues for April and May and others.

As part of effort to solve the embarrassing situation, the state government has said that it is meeting with the NUT today over the five days warning strike action.

Commissioner for Education, Godwin Ettah said the state government has invited the striking teachers for meeting on the matter and appealed to them to go back to work, urging the union not to resort to blackmail. He appealed to NUT to “We are trying to resolve those issues with labour, by the grace of God, within the next few hours, by tomorrow (today), the matter will be resolved.