The striking teacher unions have rejected calls to return to the classroom, insisting that they will continue their industrial action until the government takes concrete steps to address their outstanding concerns. The decision follows a meeting between the unions and the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, who appealed to them to suspend the strike and resume teaching, assuring them that the government would work to address their concerns.
The unions involved are the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG). Their demands include the payment of outstanding promotion arrears and progress in negotiations over their conditions of service. Speaking to the media after the meeting, the Head of Salaries, Grievances and Negotiations at GNAT, Isaac Baah, said the unions were no longer prepared to rely solely on assurances from the government.
“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. “At the moment, we are not taking promises. We want action.” Mr Baah said teachers would remain at home until there was clear evidence that the government had fulfilled its commitments towards resolving their concerns.
“Our teachers must continue to stay home until we see something concrete,” he said. He explained that the unions expected the outstanding salaries and arrears to be reflected on teachers’ payslips and credited to their accounts before they would consider returning to the classroom.
“Until we see the salary and the arrears reflected on our payslips and credited to our accounts, until we see that, we are not going back to school,” Mr Baah said. He added that the strike would remain in force until all outstanding issues raised by the unions were fully addressed and resolved. “We’ll continue to stay home until all our issues are addressed and resolved,” he said.
