We’re disappointed – Teachers say after their meeting with govt officials
Striking teacher unions have expressed their disappointment with the outcome of the stakeholder engagement they had with the Ministries of Employment and Education, the Ghana Education Service, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
Communication Director for Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-Gh) Adokwei Ayikwi-Awulley told Alfred Ocansey on 3FM Sunrise, Thursday 7 June 2022 that all that the government’s team told the striking teacher unions during their engagement last Wednesday was that the demand by the teachers was legitimate and requested for time but couldn’t specify when.
“We were thinking the minister of employment was coming from the side of the government so he would say he has been mandated to tell us what the government wants to offer but he came with nothing saying he has no mandate to come to the table with something” he mentioned.
Mr. Adokwei went on to say “He came without a mandate; that is how we term it. That they are now going to discuss it and that whatever comes out of it he will call us and put it before us. He came with no solution. They came with two main issues. Thus; we have heard it and we are now going to think about it to make a final decision, and secondly, we are pleading with you to go back to the classroom. That is all” he told 3FM
In attendance at the meeting was a representative from the Finance Ministry, Minister of Education, C.E.O of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, and the Director General of Ghana Education Service.
In reaction to the suggestions by some people that if the government had the money, it would have met their demands but the government doesn’t have the money that is why they have gone to the IMF. The leader of the teachers union said the government should just be straight forward to tell them there is no money.
“They said yes, what we are demanding for is legitimate and they can’t contest it. They are going to discuss it and get back to us. They should have said that they don’t have the means”.
He further admonished the government to take the demand for 20% COLA very seriously else it could become a national security issue because other unions are also lacing their boots but they don’t want it to be a generalized strike. Government should try to nib the problem in the bud as early as possible.
The President of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers cautioned that if action is not taken expeditiously, there will be a situation whereby about six hundred thousand employers would pour onto the streets and it will be difficult to stop them.
“We will give them time, but we will not go back to the classroom” he concluded
Four pre-tertiary unions; Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) , the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) embarked on an indefinite strike from Monday July 4.
