Three teacher unions give govt one week deadline to address conditions of service
Three pre-tertiary teacher unions in the Greater Accra Region have threatened to lay down their tools in demand of better service conditions.
The leadership of the unions, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s negotiating approach towards issues such as deprived area allowances and adjustments to continuous development allowances, among others.
Addressing the media, the Regional Secretary of GNAT, Peter Boateng, emphasised escalating tensions within the labour sector, underscoring the need for prompt action from the government to avert any disruptions.
“If the government is negotiating with the IMF for the second tranche, for us as teacher unions, what we need to get from the government is what we are fighting for our members. The government has got its priority and we the teachers have also got our priorities. Our priority must be set and we are hoping that the government will just heed and approve what our leadership has been demanding.
“As you know, the kind of taxes they take from our salaries is not small and therefore the government can just get the revenue it needs from the teachers and other workers in the country to pay off the other allowances that we are demanding.
“You will realise that from the press conference, we were demanding seventeen different kinds of allowances but we thought it is wise that for the economic hardship that we are all in we have reduced it to four. That is what the officer enumerated for the public to hear. So, for me whatever that the teachers are demanding it’s the right thing,” he stated.
The three unions’ leadership has thus given the government up till May 13, 2024, to address all these concerns.
The unions highlighted grievances such as ongoing withholding of teachers’ salaries, unilateral changes to timetables without consulting the unions, and delays in the distribution of laptops to teachers.
However, a High Court has restrained the teachers from continuing their strike.