The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu, is to meet with with the various teacher unions to ensure that issues regarding their outstanding arrears are rectified.
The meeting, which is expected to be held on Monday according to the Minister, will enable both parties to reach an agreement before the February ending deadline.
[contextly_sidebar id=”3ZM55GsgAK4WPO2QvBYXt6nXbuHJZ7dS”]The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) have threatened to embark on a nationwide strike by the end of the month if government fails to pay them their accumulated allowances.
But in an interview with Citi News, Haruna Iddrisu was hopeful the teachers will be paid by the end of February.
“I have conveyed formal notice to them to meet them on Monday. I know that they do have some engagement with the Labour Commission, and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s Chief Executive is also reaching out to them. I will engage them on those matters but I believe that we can thread the needle before the 29th deadline no matter what the difficulty may be,” he added.
Fake certificates delayed payments
Meanwhile the Ghana Education Service (GES) at a recent news conference said the payment of the salary arrears delayed because some of the teachers submitted fake documents and certificates to support their claims.
It said out of 14,575 input forms that were initially submitted by teachers for processing and payment, only 6,268 were found to be attached with genuine supporting documents.
The Director General of the GES, Mr Jacob Aaworb-Nang Maabobr Kor said there were indications that some staff of the GES were using fake certificates and other documentations, “and I wish to take this opportunity to assure all GES staff that the exercise to scrutinize documentation of all staff will continue until the bad lots are removed.”
But NAGRAT has rejected the claims.
The Vice President of NAGRAT, Angel Cabonu in an interview with Citi News said “we are shocked at the issue that the Director General raised and we are saying emphatically that the issue he raised are red-herrings and are very far from the truth.”
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By: Godwin A. Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana