BY OMOGHENE BENEDICT
Academic activities were yesterday crumbled as primary school teachers under the aegis of Basic Education Staff Association of Nigeria, BESAN took to the streets of Ughelli North in a peaceful protest over non implementation of their 30 percent minimum wage.
Clad in red on black attires, displaying placards with inscriptions such as, ‘We need our minimum’, ‘Promote graduate teachers in primary schools, ‘Pay us our minimum wage’, the protesters lamented the untold hardship they are passing through since 2019.
Speaking to newsmen at the Ughelli North Secretariat, BESAN Rep, Rev Egbinine Michael said, “We are protesting because of the minimum wage that the state government promised to pay primary school teachers since 2019 that has not been paid.
“The minimum wage has been approved by the federal government and the state government has promised us several times, months and years and in this January, 2021, they promised us but nothing happened.
“And until we hear from the government, we will not hold the chalk because we are human”. Egbinine vowed.
On his part, secretary of BESAN, Comr. Alakpa Moses said, “The primary school teachers have been denied of their minimum wage whereas our colleagues in the secondary schools are enjoying it.
“For over 15 months now, we have been suffering because the state government has refused to implement the minimum wage even after we have written several letters.
Addressing the protesters, the Chief Admin Officer of Ughelli, Ufuoma Orere held that the local government is facing similar situation and the state government has stepped into the matter to ensuring that the issue is resolved.
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