The Greater Accra Regional leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) have called on President John Mahama to urgently intervene in the ongoing teachers’ strike.
The unions say the concerns that triggered the industrial action have remained unresolved despite engagements with government and other relevant institutions.
The unions have since rejected calls to suspend the strike, insisting that previous assurances have not translated into the concrete action they are seeking.
Speaking at a press briefing, the Greater Accra Regional Chairman of NAGRAT, Henry Teitey Tetteh-Afi, said the issues have been outstanding for too long.
He called on the President to personally oversee the process to ensure the concerns are resolved.
“We expect that as the president meets with the national leadership of the teacher unions, the president will instruct the minister of finance to work together with the controller and accountant general department, ministry of education and general education service to, one, as much as much as possible within the week, ensure that all teachers who have been promoted are paid the various salaries their promotions require.
“Two, the President must ensure that the Ministry of Education, together with the Ghana Education Service and the Fair Wages Commission, sit down to bring a practical roadmap that will determine the conclusion to the collective agreement that was started somewhere last year.
“Third, we want to see a roadmap that will indicate the implementation of the 20 per cent deprived area allowance, which we have agreed upon for years now and has not been implemented.
“Anything short of this, we are not going back to the classroom,” he stated.
Meanwhile, the Greater Accra Regional Secretary of GNAT, Cosmos Ennu Kwaw, also reaffirmed the region’s support for the national leadership and its decision to continue the industrial action.
He cautioned headteachers and school authorities against compelling teachers to return to the classroom while the strike remains in force.
“We are telling teachers to stay away from work. No teacher should go. No one can intimidate any teacher. So all teachers should stay away from the classroom.”
He also appealed to parents to keep their children at home until further notice, as the unions await the outcome of the engagement with the President.
“Our dear parents, we are not oblivious of the effort and the effect of this industrial action on you. However, at this moment, we have no option but to ask that you bear with us in this difficult moment. We plead with you to impress upon the government and other stakeholders who matter in this case to simply address our concerns so we can go back to work.”
With President Mahama scheduled to meet the teacher unions today to discuss their demands and their implications for the national compensation budget, the Greater Accra Regional unions say the engagement must produce a clear resolution.
By Daniel Opoku
