The Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana, POTAG says it is unperturbed by calls for their salaries to be suspended.
Polytechnic teachers across the country have been on strike for over 100 days, demanding the payment of their book and research allowances from government.
But the Head of the Human Security Department of the National Security Secretariat, Brig. General Nunoo-Mensah, has asked government to suspend the payment of salaries of the Polytechnic Teachers who have been on strike since May, 2014.
Brig. Nunoo-Mensah questioned the rationale behind government’s continuous payment of the salaries of POTAG members.
According to him “Why should anybody who is not working be paid, either government employee or your private employee. You cannot sit in a labour room somewhere and then mess the government about.”
But speaking to Citi News, President of POTAG, James Dugrah, stated that the group is unfazed by calls on government to suspend payment of salaries of the teachers.
“Whether the strike is legal or illegal that is where the law stops….
‘’…because they think they are in power they can just unilaterally do things; is okay [if they want to hold-up] our salaries,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, the Ghana National Union of Polytechnic Students (GNUPS) has called on the Polytechnic Teachers’ Association of Ghana (POTAG) to call off their four-month old strike.
According to GNUPS, their support for POTAG’s strike was based on the belief that their demands were legitimate.
However, GNUPS stated that the government’s recent show of commitment towards finding a solution to POTAG’s four-month-old strike should be reciprocated.
Government has said it will scrap the book and research allowance and replace it with the national research fund, which would require teachers to apply for funding to undertake their research.
By: Evans Effah/citifmonline.com/Ghana