Government fails to meet deadline of teacher unions
Teacher unions bemoan effect of inflation
All schools are to remained open despite the announcement of an immediate strike by teaching and non-teaching staff in the public pre-tertiary sector.
The order was contained in a statement from the Ghana Education Service, GES, which said it had heard about the strike action in the media.
The four groups involved in the industrial action are: The Ghana National Association of Teachers, GNAT; the National Association of Graduate Teachers, NARAAT; Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana, CCT and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union, TEWU.
Their principal reason was over failure of government to honour the payment of their 20% Cost-Of-Living-Allowance, COLA.
“We have been compelled under the current circumstances to publicly communicate to Ghanaians on our intention to go on strike having gone passed the June 30, 2022 deadline we gave government for the payment of Cost-of-Living-Allowance. Consequently, we have decided to embark on a Strike Action, effective today, Monday, July 4, 2022.
“By this, we are informing the general public that, we are withdrawing all our services in all the Pre-tertiary educational space. (Teaching & Non-Teaching Staff),” the group stated in a press release.
The GES statement signed by Public Relations head, Cassanda Twum Ampofi, said leadership of the Unions have been invited for talks with GES management but that heads of basic schools and Senior High Schools have been tasked to ensure safety of all pupils and students.
"Heads of Senior High Schools have been directed through the Regional and
District Directors to mobilise their Management teams to ensure the safety and
wellbeing of all students in schools.
"Meanwhile, parents are advised to remain calm and be assured that Management is closely monitoring the situation and will advise on the way forward accordingly.
It continued: "Regional and District Directors have further been directed to ensure that Basic School Heads keep schools opened and closely supervise all children who report to school pending further directives from Management of GES," the statement concluded.
Read the GES statement below:
Why the demands from the unions?
As outlined in their release, the teacher unions say their demand for COLA has been influenced by high inflation leading to incessant increment in prices of fuel, goods and services.
The strike action by the teacher unions has been confirmed to GhanaWeb by the General Secretary of GNAT, Thomas Tanko Musah.
The strike comes as a pile-on to the pressure on the government of Ghana which has been battling with a worsening economic crisis.
TWI NEWS
The government through the Ministry of Information on Friday, June 1, 2022, announced a decision to seek a bailout from the IMF to mitigate current economic challenges facing the country.
Read the full release by the teacher unions below:
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