National president of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Mr Emmanuel Asagha, while answering question from newsmen yesterday stated that the Government is to be blamed for the lingering COEASU strike.
Mr Emmanuel Asagha who was at Abakaliki, Ebonyi State to inspect the level of compliance of its members towards the ongoing nation wide strike,said the statement made by the Minister for Education (Mr Nwike), that the Government has entered an agreement with the union, with allegation that the union has refused to call off the strike, was false, asking them to show a concrete evidence for their statement.
We have signed about six memorandum with the government, but no action has been taken on them. It is sad and it amounts to cheap blackmail to read in the media that government implemented 90 per cent of our demands and we refused to call off the strike”, he said.
Asagha further called on stake-holders and other relevant bodies to prevail on President Goodluck Jonathan to act fast to save teacher education from imminent destruction, stressing that education is the bedrock of every society and teachers are critical players in the system.
He further stated that the union would not be deterred by the government’s threat to commence its no-work-no-pay policy on the striking teachers.
The union embarked on a strike on Dec. 18, 2013, over government’s refusal to implement the 2010 agreement it reached with the union and non-payment of pension and death benefits to families of deceased colleagues.
