The leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has stated that its members will not work beyond their mandated hours to recover lost hours due to the strike which lasted over two months.
In an interview, the National President of CETAG, Prince Obeng-Himah, emphasized that while the association is open to discussions on recovering lost time, the teachers will not agree to work beyond the usual class hours.
“Some time ago, when it happened, we were compelled to teach up to 9 pm, 10 pm, then we started teaching the following day at 5 am. We are not prepared to go along that tangent. We will teach normally.
“It was not through any fault of ours because it is on record that ours is the only legal strike that Ghana has seen where we have gone on strike for two solid months and the National Labour Commission has not been able to pronounce it illegal.
“They have failed in their attempt to secure court injunctions to stop us and all of that. So we did not fault in any way. So if we are looking at Ghana in the face to say that we have called it off, there is no way anybody should impose anything that will put our health under pressure,” he emphasised.
CETAG officially called off its strike on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, following successful negotiations with the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
After returning to post, CETAG insists that if the government fails to adhere to the agreed road map, they will resume the strike at the end of October 2024.
It will be recalled that CETAG declared an indefinite strike on Friday, June 14, 2024, due to the government’s delay in implementing the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) Arbitral Award Orders and negotiated service conditions.
A day later, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) ordered CETAG to suspend the strike.
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The FWSC characterised CETAG’s action as a betrayal of trust, especially considering the government’s attempts to resolve their issues.
After some days, the National Labour Commission (NLC) announced its decision to sue the government to enforce its arbitral award orders in favour of CETAG.
Later, the NLC obtained an injunction, restraining CETAG from continuing its strike.
The NLC requested the court to restrain CETAG’s executives, officers, members, agents, and employees from further engaging in the strike action.
However, the strike persisted until the latest announcement on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.