The nationwide strike by Ghana’s pre-tertiary teacher unions is continuing, with teachers insisting that promises from the government will not be enough to bring them back to the classroom.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) declared the industrial action over outstanding promotion arrears and delays in negotiations on their conditions of service.
The latest engagement between the unions and the Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, on Monday, September 28, has failed to produce an immediate resolution.
GNAT Head of Salaries Isaac Baah said the meeting had once again produced assurances rather than the concrete implementation the unions are demanding.
“Indeed, we met the minister and his team this afternoon with regard to our strike action. It has been the old story of promises upon promises,” he said.
According to him, teachers have reached a point where government must demonstrate that outstanding commitments are being fulfilled.
“Where we have reached, at the moment we are not taking promises; we want action,” Mr Baah added.
The unions are particularly demanding evidence of payment of salary and promotion arrears, including the amounts reflected on teachers’ payslips and being credited to their bank accounts.
Mr Baah said teachers would remain at home until such evidence is available.
The position places further pressure on the government to resolve the dispute as the strike keeps teachers away from classrooms across the country.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has appealed to the unions to return to work while engagements continue with the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and Ghana Education Service.
For now, however, the unions maintain that implementation, rather than further assurances, will determine when teachers return to the classroom.
