By SIMON EBEGBULEM & GABRIEL ENOGHOLASE

BENIN CITY — STRIKING Primary School teachers in Edo State under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, yesterday, called off their strike action.

The teachers had on June 1, this year, gone on strike to press home their demand for the full implementation of the 27.5 percent Teachers’ Special Allowance, TSA from the 17 percent, which the state government had offered.

NUT Chairman in the state, Mr Patrick Ikosimi, announced the suspension of the strike, after a meeting with the government in Benin City.

Ikosimi said having reached an agreement with the national body of NUT on what the state government presently pays and on the continued discussion on how to pay the balance, “the strike is hereby, called off and all teachers are hereby, directed to report at their duty posts from Thursday, July 11.”

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Adams Oshiomhole thanked the union for suspending the strike, adding that government recognises the legitimacy of strike actions.

He said “I remain convinced about the merit of paying teachers better than the rest of the civil servants, which was why Edo State is one of the first to implement the teachers Special Allowance of 27.5 percent.  While we were implementing same, more than 50 percent of the states are not paying.  We implemented because of who we are, not that we are richer than those states, but we are convinced about the merit of paying Special Allowances to teachers if that will encourage more brilliant people to go into the profession.

“We were paying these when a new minimum wage was adopted. In Edo State, we agreed that consequent upon the implementation of the new minimum wage, we had to adjust wages across the board for all civil servants including teachers.  While we adjusted our wages upwards, many states refused to implement across the board the increase in the basic pay of civil servants.

“Having increased the wages across the board, we found that the cost of implementing  the 27.5 percent was now such that majority of our local government areas were not going to afford it.

Oshiomhole said that government agreed with NUT to pay the same amount that the teachers were being paid before the minimum wage was adjusted, adding “by the time the rate was applied, it translated on the average to about 17 percent.”