Dialogue between the government and striking members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), yielded no result as the 38 Colleges across the country remain closed.
The meeting called by the government in an attempt to get the teachers to call off their strike, ended without any concrete assurance to CETAG.
[contextly_sidebar id=”PT7ez2apAiMColDUM4HQtMhH9MljCc0c”]Members of CETAG have been on strike since November 2, 2017, demanding the immediate payment of their nine-month salary arrears, allowances and market premiums.
CETAG is also seeking improved conditions of service.
A spokesperson for ETAG, Charles Amoah Adjei, noted that the Finance Minister was noncommittal as far as their demands were concerned.
“…upon deliberations and consultations, we realized that the money cannot be paid instantly. So we are of the view that the government should commit itself by writing to tell us that we are going to pay the allowances by the end of November.”
The Finance Ministry representative, however indicated the need for consultation with her superiors before any decision is taken.
“All that we told them was that; we are waiting patiently for them to come out with a written document indicating that the arrears will be paid at the end of the month. When we get this, we will gladly move to the classroom. If not, we will continue with the strike.”
The National Labour Commission (NLC) has made pleas to CETAG to reconsider their decision to strike but to no avail.
CETAG has lamented that, despite a directive by the commission asking the Ministry of Finance to pay the arrears within two weeks, its members are yet to be paid.
According to them, per the migration of the tertiary statuses of the Colleges of Education following the passage of the Colleges of Education Act 847 in 2012, the teachers were expected to be paid the salary difference between their previous salary levels and the new salaries from January to September 2016.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana