Cross River: SUBEB pleads with NUT to back out of NLC,TUC strike

The Executive Chairman of Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Stephen Odey has urged the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) Cross River State to back out completely from the strike action embarked upon by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
Odey, who made the plea during the State Executive Council Meeting of the NUT Cross River State Wing, held at Government Primary School, Henshaw Town, stated that issues raised by the NLC to support the strike action had been handled in respect to teachers and as such NUT had no business fighting a cause that was unjustifiable.

According to him, “Teachers’ salaries have been paid up to the month of May 2017 with sufficient evidence shown to the NUT Executives, the board has also conducted promotion Interview for the first time without collecting any fee or charge from teachers and promotion letters will be released soon. Retirement requests are usually processed with dispatch, payment of salaries are handled by the board and not consultants.
“Teaching and learning materials have been recently supplied to schools for effective service delivery. Matching grants have been accessed from 2012-2016 as counterpart fund was provided by Governor Ben Ayade and over 360 projects have been awarded, about 80,000 plastic tables and chairs have been provided alongside magnetic boards, sporting equipment, books amongst other things.

“On the basis of all these, the NUT has no justification to join the strike abinitio, he emphasized and condemned the strike action which he said is of no benefit to the State. Hear Dr Odey again, “the strike action is irritating and a setback in our effort to improve on education in the state”.

He reiterated that SUBEB and Governor Ben Ayade were poised to making sure teachers welfare was a top priority of government as demonstrated by the prompt payment of salaries and other achievements recorded since he came on board.
In their response, the State NUT Chairman, Comrade Eyo Nsa Itam and State NUT Secretary General Comrade R. Anyadike thanked the Board and Governor Ben Ayade for the achievements recorded so far, while stating that the strike action was not due to their own will but as a result of their affiliation with their umbrella body, NLC.
According to Comr. Anyadike “We understand; everything you have said today is a fact, and you have been doing your best for teachers in Cross River State and we know His Excellency has also been trying for us, but we are not partaking in the strike in our capacity as NUT.

“If it were NUT strike, we should have known what to do, but this is labour strike, we did not call for the strike, it is Nigeria Labour Congress, the umbrella body housing all the industrial unions in Nigeria.”
He further appealed to government to find a way to engage Labour and put an end to the lingering strike, which they also agreed was of no benefit to both parties.