Pre-tertiary teacher unions have rejected any prospect of further delays in resolving outstanding payment issues, insisting that the government must now honour its commitments on arrears owed to teachers.
The unions are expected to meet the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, on Monday, September 28, at 10:30am as efforts continue to resolve the issues that triggered their nationwide strike.
The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and Pre-Tertiary Education Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) are demanding payment of outstanding salary-related arrears, including the deprived-area allowance and promotion arrears.
PRETAG Communications Director, Kingsley Anyimadu, said the unions would use the meeting to press for implementation of commitments already made by government rather than present new demands.
He said the deprived-area allowance had already been negotiated and teachers had been assured that payments would be made by the end of September.
“That has not been done,” Mr Anyimadu said, adding that the unions were also awaiting promotion arrears for about 80,000 teachers who had been promoted.
According to him, the unions held engagements with the Education Minister, the Controller and Accountant-General and the Finance Minister in August and September, during which they were assured that the outstanding payments would be settled by the end of September.
With the September salaries now paid without the expected arrears, Mr Anyimadu said the unions saw little justification for further meetings aimed merely at seeking additional time.
“September has ended, salary has come, and it has not been paid. So what else do they want us to discuss?” he asked.
He warned that any request by government for more time could further frustrate the teachers, stressing that the unions now expected concrete action on the outstanding payments.
“If they do and they make any attempt to plead for more time, that will be dangerous because teachers will never ever understand. No way. We’ve gone beyond meetings. We are now at the point of payment,” he said.
The dispute has brought together the three major pre-tertiary teacher unions, which declared an immediate nationwide strike over unresolved concerns relating to promotion arrears, deprived-area allowances and negotiations on their conditions of service.
The outcome of the meeting with the Education Minister is therefore expected to determine the next steps in the unions’ industrial action.
