Striking teacher unions have rejected calls to call off their industrial action, insisting that they will remain off the job until the government takes concrete steps to resolve their outstanding concerns.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana (PRETAG) are among the teacher groups involved in the industrial action.
The unions maintained their position after a meeting with government, led by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, to discuss the issues that triggered the strike.
Head of Salaries, Grievances and Negotiations at GNAT, Isaac Baah, said the unions were no longer prepared to rely on assurances from government.
“Indeed we met the minister and his team this afternoon with regards to our strike action. It has been the old story of promises upon promises,” he said.
He stressed that the teachers were demanding tangible action before returning to the classroom.
“Where we have reached at the moment we are not taking promises, we want action. Our teachers must continue to stay home until we see something concrete,” Isaac Baah stated.
He said the unions would only reconsider their position after affected teachers begin receiving their salaries and arrears.
“Until we see their salary, their arrears reflecting on our payslips and crediting our accounts. Until we see that, we are not going back to school. We will continue to stay home until all our issues are addressed and resolved,” he added.
The unions’ position comes despite an appeal from Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu for them to call off the strike while government works to resolve the outstanding issues.
As part of efforts to address the concerns, the Minister has directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to submit details of all promoted teachers to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) by the end of the week.
The move is expected to facilitate the payment of salaries and arrears owed to teachers who have been promoted.
The striking teacher unions are demanding automatic placement of promoted teachers on the payroll, payment of the 20% deprived-area allowance and progress in negotiations on their conditions of service.
The latest meeting was aimed at finding a resolution to the issues that led the unions to lay down their tools. However, the unions say they will remain on strike until they see concrete action and evidence of payments to affected teachers.
