Teacher unions unhappy with govt’s posture on negotiations
The three pre-tertiary teacher unions have expressed disappointment over what they said was the lacklustre attitude of the government towards the ongoing negotiations on the conditions of service of members.
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The unions – the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-Ghana) — said the attitude of government followed a directive to them to call off their industrial action.
Outcome
“All this while, our negotiations have not achieved any meaningful outcome. More disappointing is the fact that the government team does not seem to have the requisite mandate to respond adequately to our demands,” the unions said in a statement in Accra yesterday.
The statement was jointly signed by the General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Musah; the President of NAGRAT, Eric Agbe-Carbonu; and the President of CCT-GH, King Awudu Ali. It said in light of the current development, it is cautioning the public and the government that “in the event of any brouhaha at the pre-tertiary level, teacher union leaders must not be blamed”.
Strike off
About two weeks ago, the three pre-tertiary teacher unions called off the industrial action they embarked upon on March 20, 2024. This complies with an injunction secured by the National Labour Commission (NLC) following the teachers' failure to call off the strike after it directed them to do so.
The unions consequently called off the strike, saying that they were law-abiding citizens who had “respect for the court.” The unions went on strike to ask for a Continuous Professional Development Allowance, deprived area allowance, transport and committing allowance, rent/housing allowance and teaching/assessment allowance.
Ministry
Mr Ali called on the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to resume talks today (April 2, 2024) "so that we can expedite the negotiations and come to a conclusion to forestall any other happenings in the future".
At a press conference to declare the strike, the President of GNAT, Reverend Isaac Owusu, who spoke on behalf of the unions, explained that the move was a result of the failure of the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to address some pressing issues that were affecting teachers’ ability to effectively deliver on their mandates.
He said that the government had failed to renegotiate a Collective Agreement, which addressed issues such as allowances for teachers in underserved areas, entertainment allowance and housing/rent allowance, following the expiration of the existing one in 2023.
He stressed that the document should have been completed on or before February 29, 2024. “Thus, the new Collective Agreement stands unnegotiated, and we raised this concern in our letter to the Director-General, GES, dated February 29, 2024, and also informed the National Labour Commission (NIC),” Rev. Owusu added.
He also attributed the strike action to the inability of the GES to institute a functional Scheme of Service for Teachers that could take care of all requirements of the teaching