Lagos Primary School Teachers Allege Wage Discrimination

The Lagos State Primary School teachers have condemned the recent payment of N20,000 they received as palliative as against the publicly announced N35,000 by the Federal Government.

President Bola Tinubu directed that a N35,000 provisional wage award should be paid to Federal Government workers for six months.

A viral message on social media by these teachers explained that the Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also promised to pay teachers N35,000 to cushion the effect of the harsh economic climate.

It read briefly, “We are writing to notify your office, Mr Governor, sir, that what we received negates the promise you made to us while our other colleagues in secondary schools and at other parastatals like LASTMA, technical colleges, Local government Education Authority staff received the full N35,000 bonus. Teachers at the primary school only received N20,000 as palliative. Are we not part of the system?

“The promise, according to the letter signed by the Head of Service  stated that all public servants will receive an end-of-the-year bonus of 50 per cent of basic salary and a non-taxable wage of N35,000 as agreed to be paid by Mr Governor but to our surprise we got N20,000 as wage award.”

Also, the Secretary-General, of Nigeria Union of Teachers, Dr Ike-Ene, emphasised that there were states in the country that had not received any palliative, while those who received, got meagre of N10,000.

“Implementation of promises is the major problem of the government. The Federal Government promised us N35,000 as palliative but do you know they have not paid anybody that amount? Many of us have not received anything, and those who received got less, some were even given just N10,000.”

However, the Head, Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr Ganiyu Lawal, told the PUNCH that “It is the Local Government that pays salaries of primary school teachers. The LGs came together and agreed that it is only N20,000 that they can afford to pay their staff in pry schools, that was the reason they got that amount.”

December 22, 2023