The Coalition of Unpaid Teachers has cautioned government with a final ultimatum for a mammoth street protest and legal action if their over one year salary arrears are not defrayed.
The group says although it organised series of protests in 2025, the Ghana Education Service (GES) was adamant in issuing the over 6,000 members the necessary staff identification cards, pushing them into “abject poverty.”
The group argues that after teaching between 12 and 15 months, many of its members have only been paid for only two months for their service, with some yet to receive any payment at all.
Simon Kofi Nartey, lead convenor of the Coalition, tells Accra-based Citi FM on Sunday, January 4, 2026, that the delay is taking a financial and psychological toll on the affected teachers.
“We are calling on our employer and the government at large to listen to us and have our arrears paid so that we can all have our peace of mind to continue with the good work that we are doing for the country,” he stated.
According to him, the authorities should ensure that all outstanding IDs be completed before the January 2026 payroll is finalised, since the lack of such IDs is the major hurdle preventing them from being fully integrated into the mechanised payroll system.
“The few that are left to be issued with their staff IDs should have it before this month’s salary comes, before we hit the street once again,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Coalition is also considering a legal redress against the state, arguing that the current system is arbitrary. He points out that teachers who were recruited at the same time and posted to the same regions have seen vastly different outcomes.
“Some of us started work with colleagues who have received their salaries in full, while others are still going through this ordeal. It is just unfair, and it calls for legal action to be taken against the government,” Mr Nartey added.
Pre-tertiary teachers threaten to strike if violent attacks on them by students do not stop
