Ghana National Teachers Association (GNAT) General Secretary Thomas Musah said teachers expected the government to reach an agreement on terms of service soon.
Teachers are not ready to accept the government’s excuses, he says.
“The only thing that can be done now is for the government to assess this and implement it as soon as possible and at least wipe away the tears of the teachers,” Thomas Musah said on TV3’s Ghana Tonight program on Wednesday, May 15. ” he said. And the suffering of teachers.
“Don’t you realize that teachers are dying in Lake Volta? Let’s get serious. Teachers are awake and will not accept any apology or excuse from the government. The sooner we can get to the table to meet what we’re doing, the better for all of us.”
He was commenting on a petition submitted by teachers’ unions in the central region to the regional minister’s office against the government’s slow response to negotiations on working conditions.
The union said its members are shaken by the hardships imposed by the current economic situation in the country.
Teachers submit petition against government’s drag in terms of service negotiations
“We reiterate our call on employers to address the benefits concerns listed above and honor their commitments and commitments to teachers.
“We want to emphasize that we will not tolerate this situation any longer because we are tired of the indifference, drag and unfairness of our employers. We would like to state in strong terms that if the demands are not met, we call on the leaders to take immediate action and in that case the teachers will be held accountable.” Part of the petition reads:
Below is the full petition…
Petition to the Honorable Regional Minister against the government’s foot-dragging in teacher collective agreement negotiations by the teachers’ unions in pre-tertiary education in the Central Region – GNAT, NAGRAT and CCT-GH..
introduction
Our reasons for filing this petition are very simple, but equally important, not only for us as teachers, but for the collective interest of all stakeholders and the provision of education in Ghana.
We would like to reiterate that teachers play a vital role in helping Ghana achieve its expected educational goals. Teachers, perhaps more than anyone else, shape and determine the outcome of the learning process and virtually guarantee the success of the educational system.
The aftermath of the 2009 and 2020 collective agreements
Since the negotiation of the collective agreement in 2009 and since the collective agreement in 2020, the union has not known peace because the government has not fulfilled the agreed benefits and has not continued to fulfill the promises given.
We are proud to say that we now have 17 benefits that we have fought for over the past 15 years. However, several considerations led him to reduce them to four. these are:
- Poor area allowance.
- Additional evaluation allowance.
- Books/data/online instruction support allowance, and
- Upward adjustment of CPD allowance.
Despite this show of good faith from trade unions, the government remains stubborn and shows malicious intent.
This often led to a high degree of discouragement and dissatisfaction with the leadership.
Members complained and we had to walk a fine line. These grievances are exacerbated, especially as our members are reeling from the extreme hardships imposed on us all by the country’s current economic situation.
We would like to highlight that the past 24 months have been the most tortuous for Ghanaian teachers and there is no glimmer of hope for relief from their employers.
Our request:
In line with the above, we once again call on employers to address the benefits concerns listed above and honor their commitments and commitments to teachers.
Call to action:
We are tired of employer indifference, foot-dragging and unfairness and would like to emphasize that we will no longer tolerate this situation.
We call on teachers to take immediate action if employers do not comply with our demands, in which case we send a strong message that teachers should be relieved of responsibility. I would like to say this.
thank you.
- Abdullahi Baba Yusif – GNAT Regional Secretary —————————
(0243564067)
- Madam Saramatsu Gaus – Nagrat Regional Chairman————————–
(0244085161)
- Isaac Lord Anderson, CCT-GH Regional President —————————
(0244979887)
The date is May 15, 2024.