Unions of striking teachers have turned down requests to go back to the classroom, stating that they will continue their industrial action until the government makes concrete efforts to meet their demands.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu met with the unions and asked them to end their strike and go back to school, promising that the government would address their issues. Following that meeting, the decision was made.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) are among the unions participating.
They are seeking a resolution to the stalled talks over their terms of service and the payment of past promotion arrears.
Isaac Baah, Head of Salaries, Grievances, and Negotiations at GNAT, told the media following the meeting that the unions were no longer prepared to trust assurances from the government.
He remarked, “In fact, we met with the minister and his staff this afternoon concerning our strike action. Promises after promises have been the familiar narrative.”
“We’re not making any commitments right now. Action is what we want.”
Baah stated that educators would continue to stay at home until they could see proof that the government had acted on its commitments to address their problems.
“Our teachers must remain at home until something concrete emerges,” he stated.
He stated that before they would think about going back to school, the unions anticipated that the unpaid wages and arrears would be reflected on teachers’ payslips and credited to their accounts.
Baah stated, “We are not returning to school until we see the salary and arrears showing on our payslips and credited to our accounts.”
He went on to say that the strike would continue until every problem brought up by the unions had been addressed and resolved.
Until all of our concerns are addressed and handled, we will remain at home, he stated.
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