FCT Primary School Teachers Resume Strike Over Unpaid Minimum Wage
Primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), represented by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), have declared the continuation of their indefinite strike starting Monday, March 24, 2025.
This action follows the teachers receiving their February 2025 salaries without the inclusion of the promised N70,000 minimum wage.
The strike decision was deliberated and confirmed in a communique released at the end of an emergency State Wing Standing Committee (SWSC) meeting held in Gwagwalada on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
During the meeting, discussions focused on the discrepancies in salary payments, particularly the exclusion of the newly approved national minimum wage.
“The Union finds it worrisome the constant and flagrant disregard for agreements reached with the Area Council Chairmen in FCT,” the communique stated.
It further highlighted that a major agreement in previous negotiations was the enforcement of the new minimum wage for primary school teachers by February 2025, which had been the reason for halting the earlier strike.
Expressing disappointment over the salary payment process, the union stated, “The payment of February Salary by the Councils without recourse to the Union and the New Minimum Wage is disturbing, disheartening, and lacking in sympathy for the plight of Primary School Teachers in the FCT.”
The SWSC raised concerns about the financial difficulties teachers continue to face, asking, “Why the continuous impoverishing of the impoverished? Why impose continuous hardship and suffering on the teachers and their families? Enough Is Enough!”
The communique listed several demands, including the immediate enforcement of the national minimum wage in February salaries and payment of the difference between the old and new wages.
“The payment of March salaries according to the new minimum wage. Disbursement of six months’ worth of minimum wage arrears as previously agreed.
“Immediate steps towards implementing various allowances, including a 40 percent peculiar allowance and additional salary increases,” the communique stated.
Union members were instructed to adhere to these demands and await further instructions, while parents were advised to keep their children at home throughout the strike.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, FCT NUT Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Mohammed Shafas, voiced his frustration over the area council chairmen’s failure to uphold their agreements.
“We suspended our strike on February 21, 2025, in good faith, under the assurance that the new minimum wage would be implemented in February,” Shafas stated.
He described the decision to issue February salaries without including the new wage as “disturbing, disheartening, and lacking in empathy” for the struggles of primary school teachers.
