The National Labour Commission(NLC) has ordered the three striking teacher unions to call off the strike action immediately.
This comes after a meeting between the NLC, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and representatives of the teacher Unions on Wednesday, November 9.
The Employment Ministry dragged the unions before NLC on Tuesday, November 8, after their refusal to call off their strike.
NLC contended that the teachers did not follow the appropriate procedures before declaring the strike.
The commission has therefore asked them to resume work while they continue their negotiations with the government.
Background
Three striking teacher unions boycotted meeting with the government after they were dragged to the National Labour Commission(NLC).
The meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, November 8, 2022, after inconclusive deliberations on Monday.
However, the unions refused to honour the meeting after the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations hauled them before the NLC over their strike action.
The ministry was seeking an intervention from NLC to ensure the pre-tertiary teachers return to the classroom.
On Monday, November 7, the unions urged their members to continue staying at home after the meeting with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations did not yield any favourable outcome.
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) were on strike as a protest against the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah as Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES).
They embarked on the industrial action on Friday, November 4, 2022.
The associations believe that Dr Nkansah is a banker, not a professional teacher. Hence government should appoint another person with an education background.
They also cited other reasons for the strike, such as the failure of the Ministry of Education to promote qualified teachers in the profession, the failure to harness the payment of car or vehicle maintenance allowance to teachers, and the reluctance to deliver laptops for teachers to facilitate their teaching in the various schools.
According to the unions, the Ministry of Finance had indicated that their allowances were paid in 2018, but they have not received any allowances yet.
The unions started a series of meetings concerning the removal of Dr Eric Nkankah a week before the strike, but the government did not heed their call.