The industrial strike action initiated by the three pre-tertiary teachers’ unions on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, has been officially called off.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH) embarked on this strike to protest against the inadequate conditions of service they were facing.
The unions pointed out that the Ministry of Education and its implementing agency, the Ghana Education Service (GES), had failed to address their concerns and improve their working conditions.
Among the issues raised by the teachers were the absence of a suitable Scheme of Service and a Collective Agreement, frequent changes in the school calendar without consulting the teachers, inefficient distribution of laptops, and the withholding of some teachers’ salaries by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
In response to the strike, both the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the National Labour Commission (NLC) criticized the unions’ actions and urged them to return to the negotiation table.
In a statement issued today [Tuesday, April 2, 2024], the President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana, King Ali Awudu,
intimated the importance for their employers to swiftly address their concerns of the unions.
“As law abiding citizens and having respect for the court, we hereby declare the strike that was called on 20th March 2024 off. We ask all our members and teachers of pre-tertiary education in this country to resume work with immediate effect,” he said.
“We continue to ask the employer led by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to commence negotiations this afternoon, today April 2 2024. So we can expedite the negotiations and come to a conclusion to forestall any other happenings in the future,” he added.
