Teachers and council workers in the six area councils of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have listed key demands, including the full implementation of the ₦70,000 minimum wage, as conditions for suspending their strike.
They declared that the strike would only be suspended once all outstanding arrears owed to primary school teachers and local government workers are fully paid.
Among their demands is the immediate commencement of payments, beginning with the eight months’ arrears of the new minimum wage owed to Local Education Authorities (LEAs) and area council workers—totalling over ₦16 billion.
Union leaders said their members were particularly angered by what they described as the persistent lack of commitment to the welfare of public school teachers and council staff.
A member of the joint executive council of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of press clearance, disclosed the unions’ stance in a phone conversation on Tuesday.
He said the decision followed two separate meetings with the area council chairmen—both of which ended without any resolution.
“The chairmen asked us to pause the strike and return to talks, but we refused,” he said. “They’ve broken too many promises and neglected their responsibilities.”
While the unions acknowledged the implementation of the new minimum wage for some categories of workers, he insisted that it fell far short of their broader demands.
“At the joint meeting, the union also demanded that payment begin with the eight months’ arrears of the new minimum wage for LEA and council workers, amounting to over ₦16 billion,” he stated.
The unions further called on the chairmen to comply with the directive of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, which mandates the use of 10% of the FCT-IRS allocation to settle workers’ entitlements.
