If the government doesn't comply with their demands, more than 300k teachers will go on strike.

 

Government has twenty-four hours to avert a nationwide resumption of strike by pre-tertiary teacher unions

The union leadership claims that there are growing agitations among the more than 300,000 teachers in the country and that the government needs to take immediate action.

On April 24, 2024, in Accra, Thomas Musah Tanko, the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), had an exclusive interview with Daniel Opoku, our labor correspondent.

The sluggish progress of the ongoing negotiations has infuriated the pre-tertiary teacher unions, who have called off their strike.

The teachers' leadership claims that the issues they brought up with the administration are still unanswered.

Teachers in underprivileged communities have not received their basic compensation of twenty percent from the unions for the past fifteen years.

Additionally, they are requesting that teachers receive a GHC 1,200 annual professional development stipend, but the government has not yet complied.

"At the moment, all the gains have been undermined by continuous development, and the government needs to take action. It also needs to address the issue of extracurricular allowances," Mr. Tanko stated.

The pre-tertiary teacher unions are furious that their front is becoming agitated due to the government's foot dragging during the negotiations.

Speaking for the teacher unions, Tanko stated that prompt action from the government is necessary to avert any potential strikes.

"The educators have reached their breaking point. We as leaders have sent a warning, so please heed it. If managers want to ignore this, then they should take responsibility for their actions, he said.

He was particularly troubled by the fact that the Finance Ministry representatives in attendance at the negotiations lack the authority to make legally enforceable decisions.

He clarified, "The Ministry of Finance appears to be unaware of the seriousness of the situation; their sent representative is mute, which is having an impact on the negotiations."