Teachers in Bayelsa public primary schools have embarked on indefinite strike to press for the payment of the nine-and-a-half months’ salary owed by local governments in the state.
This was after they rejected the one month salary offered to them by the state government to avert the action.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the teachers had commenced an indefinite strike on Monday after a three-day warning strike.
The state wing of the Nigeria union of Teachers, NUT, said in a statement on Tuesday that it has directed the teachers to commence the action.
The Chairman of NUT, Kalama Toinpre, who signed the statement, said the action was meant to press for payment of outstanding salaries owed the teachers.
Toinpre, therefore, directed all primary school teachers to stay away from classrooms with effect from Monday

The chairman insisted that they should stay at home until government pays them at least three months salaries to cushion the effects of “biting economic hardship’’ they were facing.
He said the teachers also demanded that the state government should take over the management and funding of the primary school system or “carry out its augmenting role to the local government councils’’.
He noted that augmenting primary school funding was being practiced in other states of the federation to sustain primary education.
The chairman also called on the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and the Post Primary Schools Board to implement the recent promotion exercises, and commence fresh promotions for teachers who are due.
He also demanded that the deductions made from the primary school teachers for identity cards be stopped forthwith, while all monies so far deducted should be refunded to the teachers without delay.
Mr. Toinpre urged all teachers to embark on seven days of fasting and prayers, in the first week of the strike, to seek God’s intervention over the plight of primary school teachers in Bayelsa.
He said that after two weeks of the strike, if nothing was done, teachers in secondary schools would also embark on sympathy strike that would ground the education sub-sector.
It will be recalled that the warning strike called by the NUT over the unpaid salaries in primary schools ended on May 4.
The state Commissioner for Local Government Administration had on Friday announced the payment of April salary to persuade the teachers to shelve the planned strike which the teachers rejected.
Also in Bayelsa, Health workers at the Federal Medical Centre, FMC, Yenagoa, under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions, JOHESU, on Tuesday suspended their five-day strike.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the workers embarked on the strike on May 4, over non-payment of March and April salary arrears, and backlog of salary shortfalls owed the workers.
The suspension of the strike followed a meeting between the workers’ representatives and the management of the hospital on Tuesday.
It was gathered that the March 2017 salary was paid on Monday while the strike was in force.
The parties agreed that the strike be suspended and workers return to their duty posts from May 10.
It was also agreed by both parties that the outstanding April of JOHESU 2017 salary be paid within 14 days, with effect from May 10, 2017.
According to the agreement, signed by Denis Alagoa, Medical Director, FMC, and Save Nubani, Acting Coordinator of the union, no member of staff would be victimised for taking part in the strike.

http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/230780-unpaid-nine-months-bayelsa-teachers-commence-indefinite-strike.html

Is that not the state of origin of the formal president..... I am not understanding

Weh Done Dick-son our man...U are d man

Woww

Hmmmm

Upon all the bail out fund abi?

And some old women from this state were carrying placard to support madam d madam.


Supporting those who make life miserable for you and your kids is ******.

Change your ways and attack the wolf eating up your tomorrow abeg.


If you like attack me, I no get time to reply anybody.

Wickedness of man. How do you expect them to feed their families?

Soon university lecturers will join

Gbege

Bayelsa and Benue state in competition when it comes to owing of salaries

Gud! They should even go to the gov't house to beat dat useless governor!

Chai! Poor teachers ur reward has gone back to heaven o

With monthly allocation, population and state of (un)development going on in the state. They have no excuse for being owed.

Wetin govt dey do naa. Haba upon say the salary small yet them no dey pay. Nawao

Stone him period! Any governor that owing more than one month salary should be stone APC/PDP. Enough all these. The populace should rise up..

Kogi, Bayelsa and Benue I no talk anything oo

What exactly are the achievements of this Bayelsa Governor?

And this the same people that want to control there oil ??

Ijaws are the worst a managers in Nigeria ..I know them well ..bayelsa is a typical case of how an ijaw nation will look like

They voted for Dickson so they should enjoy him.

Lol
This is a f*cking joke. It's a failure of leadership. How can they be owing salaries with their humongous allocation and small population. For the idiot saying Biafra, what is the relationship between an incompetent leader and Biafra? This has nothing to do with Biafra or the north. I just don't know if I should laugh or cry for them.
And the worst part is that the governor and his executive will continue to collect their own salaries without delays. I weep for Nigeria.

ExpiredNigeria:
Bayelsa State of all states where Money from Oil that sustains the whole country is coming from. And when we say we need Baifra they are like "count us out of your Baifra"

Thats the problem with you ignorant lots. Instead to hold your state government accountable for all the huge sums being disbursed to them.

Who's the governor again? We strike at all levels. It's a 'large' shame. I'm pleased to announce that I'm disappointed.

Instead of to blame it on their alcohol consumption they blame it on another man currently on health leave. Albeit I'm a proponent to true federalism, but I still believe Southern states can still be better than this current status quo if their leaders aren't greedy. Considering the allocation allotted to Bayelsa with statistically the smallest population in Nigeria, owing teachers salary is quite diminutive to the image and disgrace to who ever lead such state.

Where is Benbella Obamanikoro Bruce ? Mr Common (Non) Sense.... ?

Always pointing fingers at others, blind to the faults in his own domain.... If it were to be another state, the onigbese would have been somersaulting & posturing , asking to give the workers bowls of rice... Yeye man!!

ExpiredNigeria:
Shouldn't Bayelsa better than most states in Nigeria? of all State of all states in Nigeria Bayelsa is where Money from Oil that sustains the whole country is coming from. And when we say we need Baifra some foo.ls from their would be like "count us out of your Baifra" My States Anambra is not Owing anybody, no State is South East is, so when next I tell you my younger brother that we need Biafra try and understand that you're the one being raped the most..

Whose fault is it that Bayelsa failed to realize its potential?

Now, you need Biafra because Nigerian states like Bayelsa cannot pay salaries? What's next, you'll want Biafura because a Nigerian man cannot penetrate his wife?

How ridiculous!

Your comment lacks a coherent sequence or connection.

This has to be the most disjointed submission I've seen in a long while.

It is painful that state like Bayelsa, will owe workers considering the volume of money they get from the federation account vis-a-vis, the workers number in the state.

where is this country heading to ?

Meanwhile,Mama Peace Own a N10 billion aridolf hotel in Bayelsa.
Life is not fair.

Bayelsa state has 8 local govt and Ogun state has 20 local govt and Bayelsa got times three of monthly alocation of what Ogun state received and Ogun state did not owed any workers their salary. Well, Na our people na him go spoil this country. The evil plan of our bad leaders towards this country shall never stand.

nigerian government be like " the reward of teachers is in heaven"