Leadership of the Association has asked its members to return to the classroom today [Friday].

This comes after a meeting between the Association and the National Labour Commission (NLC) on Thursday.

[contextly_sidebar id=”odUN3OUHqneBBCCfZ6N5XumLgnCp6h68″]TUTAG has been asked to hold consultative meetings with the Ministry of Education and the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) to address its grievances.

Members of TUTAG stayed out of the classroom for four days in protest of the amendment of certain sections of the 2016 Act that establishes Technical universities.

The amendment bill which is currently before Parliament seeks to grant powers to the NCTE to perform functions which TUTAG argues fall within the purview of the Governing Councils, the Academic Boards and the Principal Officers of  Technical Universities in Ghana.

Speaking to Citi News the General Secretary of TUTAG, David Worwui Brown, said Association will resume its action if nothing useful comes out of the consultative meetings with stakeholders.

“The Ministry and the National Council of Tertiary Education have consulted with our Association so the grey areas that we have, we will see how best we can streamline them for our mutual benefit. Perhaps we will also be meeting the parliamentary select committee on education. That may be a final meeting as to consider whichever amendments that the Minister would have made to the proposed amendments. Based on that we will suspend our strike and then resume the strike if our consultation does not yield any result.”

TUTAG had called on the President Akufo-Addo and the Minister for Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in October 2017, to stop the NCTE’s illegal directives being imposed on the various technical universities.

TUTAG had indicated that the NCTE is usurping the powers of technical universities against the provisions of Technical Universities Act.

It said the NCTE is abusing the powers that were imposed on it during the period when the various polytechnics were being converted into Technical Universities.

TUTAG said despite the inauguration of the various Councils, the NCTE is still issuing directives to the technical universities which are, in its view, in a crystal clear contravention of the provisions of the Technical Universities Act.

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By: Marian Ansah & Naa Kwarmah Siaw Marfo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post TUTAG calls off strike after NLC meeting appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The meeting comes on the back of the refusal of TUTAG to call off its strike despite an order by the Commission to do so.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sagPi9aZOdHD3p8fYy4soG6DkMbxkKCK”]The Association’s decision is in protest of the amendment of certain sections of the 2016 Act that establishes Technical universities.

The amendment bill which is currently before Parliament seeks to grant powers to the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) to perform functions which TUTAG argues fall within the purview of the Governing Councils, the Academic Boards and the Principal Officers of Universities in Ghana.

The Ministry of Education is expected to be represented at today’s meeting.

The Technical University’s Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) had called on the President Akufo-Addo and the Minister for Education, Matthew Opoku Prempeh, in October 2017, to stop the National Council for Tertiary Education’s (NCTE) illegal directives being imposed on the various technical universities.

TUTAG had indicated that the NCTE is usurping the powers of technical universities against the provisions of Technical Universities Act.

It accused the NCTE of abusing the powers that were imposed on it during the period when the various polytechnics were being converted into Technical Universities.

TUTAG said despite the inauguration of the various Councils, the NCTE is still issuing out directives to the technical universities which are, in its view, in a crystal clear contravention of the provisions of the Technical Universities Act.

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By: Marian Ansah & Naa Kwarmah Siaw Marfo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post TUTAG meets NLC over sit down strike appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The workers in various regions had been on strike for nearly two weeks to demand their seven months unpaid salaries.

[contextly_sidebar id=”FomO8sI13ebyBaHMvgnOHrP168fnPuLB”]They also asked government to take action against the managers of the company, accusing them of running down the agency.

An Accountant at AESL, Patrick Nyarko, said workers are elated about the latest development, and are hopeful their concerns will be addressed.

“He was supposed to have retired over two years ago but he was still in position and the pressure that was coming upon him made him curtail his presence at the Agency. The workers are excited..We are no more on strike, we are all working. We have not been paid but there is a hope that since he’s gone, management will put their heads together and work things out quickly,” Mr. Nyarko said.

We’ve not been paid for the past 7 months’

At a press briefing held a few weeks ago, AESL employees in the Upper West and Eastern Regions, said the government had not paid them for the past seven months.

In the Upper West, the spokesperson for the workers, Naa Aziz Bukari, expressed grave worry about the situation, saying it was affecting their productivity since most of them are unable to meet their family obligations.

He therefore asked government to immediately pay them or they will have no other choice than to “advise” themselves.

We can’t pay our rent – Eastern AESL workers weep

The Eastern Regional branch employees of the Agency had also stated that majority of their colleagues were being ejected from their homes by their landlords due to their indebtedness.

Their spokesperson, Kingsley Aboagye, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said: “The problem with our institution is payment of salaries. The last time we received salaries was in July last year [2017], and ever since that time, it hasn’t been easy for us because the company is in arrears for 7 months with this month [February] inclusive. We really do not know what the problem is, but we believe it is because we do not have a governing board and an M.D. in place now.”

“Management is supposed to facilitate the payments of workers, but as at now, we simply do not know what they are doing. There are over 25 workers here and most of us are being forced out of our homes by our landlords just because we have not been able to renew our expired,” he said.

About AESL

AESL was established as an agency of the Ministry to provide Consultancy Services in Engineering and Architecture to Government departments, Organizations, Para-statal Organizations, Commercial houses as well as individuals.

The Agency also undertakes the survey and design of bridges, irrigation works, water supplies, sewerage systems, soils and foundation studies, as well as the testing of construction materials and the valuation and appraisal of properties. The Company is represented in all the 10 regions of the country.

It also supervises Civil and other related projects, and provides quality control services to Contractors, Designers, and other consulting Engineers through its Geo-Technical Laboratories.agreements.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post AESL workers call off strike after MD’s resignation appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The workers, who also accuse government of stifling the company by giving most contracts to private consultants, have threatened to lock the office and protest on the street.

[contextly_sidebar id=”sxfrFFekaY5eKg5i0CcnrUsDJD7b0p0O”]The Union Chairman at Ho, Joefrey Amegashie, said workers will embark on a full-blown strike effective Monday if their arrears are not settled.

“They pay us through our consultancy fee and because of this, our consultancy fee is still pending at Works and Housing. We are on a sit down strike pending the outcome. We are waiting for management to pay us our seven month arrears otherwise from Monday, there will be a total strike. We will close down the office till they pay us our salary,” he said.

Threats by employees at the Volta Regional AESL branch, follow similar ones by their counterparts in the Eastern and Upper West regions, who also threatened to lay down their tools in protest of the non payment of their salaries.

At a press briefing held last week, AESL employees in the Upper West Region said the government had not paid them for the past seven months.

Their leader, Naa Aziz Bukari, expressed grave worry about the situation, saying it was affecting their productivity since most of them are unable to meet their family obligations.

He therefore asked government to immediately pay them or they will have no other choice than to “advise” themselves.

We can’t pay our rent – Eastern AESL workers weep

Their counterparts in the Eastern Region, have actually carried out their threat, and are currently on strike.

Their spokesperson, Kingsley Aboagye, said majority of his colleagues are being ejected from their homes by their landlords due to their indebtedness.

“The problem with our institution is payment of salaries. The last time we received salaries was in July last year [2017], and ever since that time, it hasn’t been easy for us because the company is in arrears for 7 months with this month [February] inclusive. We really do not know what the problem is, but we believe it is because we do not have a governing board and an M.D. in place now.”

“Management is supposed to facilitate the payments of workers, but as at now, we simply do not know what they are doing. There are over 25 workers here and most of us are being forced out of our homes by our landlords just because we have not been able to renew our expired rent agreements.”

About AESL

AESL was established as an agency of the Ministry to provide Consultancy Services in Engineering and Architecture to Government departments, Organizations, Para-statal Organizations, Commercial houses as well as individuals.

The Agency also undertakes the survey and design of bridges, irrigation works, water supplies, sewerage systems, soils and foundation studies, as well as the testing of construction materials and the valuation and appraisal of properties. The Company is represented in all the 10 regions of the country.

It also supervises Civil and other related projects, and provides quality control services to Contractors, Designers, and other consulting Engineers through its Geo-Technical Laboratories.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ho AESL workers on sit-down strike over salary arrears appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the workers, they were last paid in July 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”upbmVY5Z0DWBY41QeU6RyOpvy8oearZ6″]They have blamed the government for failing to constitute a board of directors to oversee the affairs of the company.

The spokesperson for the workers, Kinglsey Aboagye, told Citi News that the strike had become necessary as management has been unresponsive to their demands.

“We met and decided that we cannot be coming to work. We are really hard up. People are finding it difficult to even find money to come to work. When you are not being paid, people owe rent, utilities, our children’s school fees, and so we met and decided as a group that we cannot continue like that,” he said.

The workers had threatened a strike last Thursday.

Some aggrieved workers who also spoke to Citi News indicated that, they have been surviving on bank loans after several months without salaries.

Sanction management

The workers who called on the government to intervene believe sanctions should be meted out to management members for their mismanagement.

“The problem is our management because they have to manage our issues, our sector minister, Samuel Atta Akyea, is very much aware of our plight but we are surprised since his government took over power he has not done anything about it.”

“Not paying staff who have worked for close to 7 months is not good management so we believe heads must roll, people should be held responsible for these issues because how do you expect workers to survive without salaries? So we are therefore calling on government to look into our matters and deal with individuals whose negligence have caused our plights.”

Threats by AESL workers in Upper West

Staff of AESL in the Upper West Region are also threatening to lay down their tools in protest the non-payment of their salaries.

At a press briefing on Wednesday, the group said the government had not paid them for the past seven months.

Their leader, Naa Aziz Bukari, expressed concern about the situation, saying it is affecting their productivity since most of them are unable to meet their family obligations.

He has therefore asked the government to immediately pay them or they will have no other choice than to “advise” themselves.

About AESL

AESL was established as an agency of the Ministry to provide Consultancy Services in Engineering and Architecture to Government departments, Organizations, Para-statal Organizations, Commercial houses as well as individuals.

The Agency also undertakes the survey and design of bridges, irrigation works, water supplies, sewerage systems, soils and foundation studies, as well as the testing of construction materials and the valuation and appraisal of properties. The Company is represented in all the 10 regions of the country.

It also supervises Civil and other related projects, and provides quality control services to Contractors, Designers, and other consulting Engineers through its Geo-Technical Laboratories.

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By: Marie-Franz Fordjoe/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Eastern AESL workers declare strike over unpaid salaries appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Although a specific date for the strike has not been given, the second term begins next week. The intended strike is in connection with the non-payment of arrears amounting to over GHc 50 million.

[contextly_sidebar id=”23t82629rc5rS7Mjnh2Wguuo4eDdE3kR”]According to them, the said arrears were captured to be paid in the March 2017 budget but were not paid.

The unions, comprising the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), have been negotiating with the government for the past 11 months.

The unions say the unpaid allowances have accrued from 2013 to date.

Speaking to Citi News on behalf of the three teacher unions, the incoming President of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu, noted that notice of the intended strike stemmed from their frustrations in their dealings with government.

He said the unions did not see any possibility of progress with the current negotiations.

“You go and have meetings and it is as if there is some break in synergy or understanding between the controller and accountant general, the audit service, all contributing to delays in the payment of the money.”

“We served notice to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission indicating that we have come to the end of the road. We have made these demands for a while, but we are not getting positive results so come this term, we will be taking industrial action to push further our demands,” Mr. Carbonu said.

Serious agitation over the arrears begun in 2016, when NAGRAT threatened a similar action over the non-payment of salary arrears to 2013 and 2014 batches of newly recruited teachers, teachers on promotion, and others who were reinstated or re-engaged, and also outstanding transfer grants and allowances to deserving teachers.

Agitations from CETAG

The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) also laid down their tools for three weeks over the failure of the government to pay salary arrears owed them since October 2016.

The strike was called off after the three national officers of CETAG signed an agreement with three Cabinet Ministers; the Employment and Labour Relations Minister, the Education Minister and a deputy Finance Minister, signed for the government.

The details of the agreement indicated that government would pay the arrears in the first quarter of 2018.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Teacher unions set to strike over GHc 50m arrears appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Over the past 11 months, the various teacher unions have been negotiating with the government on the need to settle all its indebtedness to teachers, but the government has failed to honour its promise, after including it in the 2017 budget.

[contextly_sidebar id=”LWDTpkH24qW1Ixhw2CBLUj0ncHSm0hTQ”]According to NAGRAT, the unpaid allowances have accrued from 2013 to date.

Addressing the media at a press briefing today [Friday],  incoming President of  NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu, called on government to address their concerns without further delays.

“We are owed vehicle maintenance allowance, we are also owed transfer grants, and then we are also owed transport and travel allowances. All these amounts to over 50 million cedis, and there is also salary arrears of those who have been recruited into the Ghana Education Service, and they have taught for months and have not been paid for those months that they have taught. They also owe us allowances and arrears that ought to be paid, and all these we are not getting any clear indication as to government’s determination to pay these monies, so once we have a situation like this, we are affected by government’s ineptitude to address the issues.”

NAGRAT 2016 threat

In 2016, the Association threatened a similar action over the non-payment of salary arrears to 2013 and 2014 batches of newly recruited teachers, teachers on promotion, and others who were reinstated or re-engaged, and also outstanding transfer grants and allowances to deserving teachers.

CETAG strike

NAGRAT’s threat follows a three month strike by the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), over the failure of government to pay salary arrears owed them since October 2016.

The strike was later called off following assurances from the government that the arrears would be paid to them by April 2018.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post NAGRAT threatens strike over GHc50m arrears appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The staff thus commenced a sit-down strike today [Thursday].

[contextly_sidebar id=”K096cgCTM9Ntm3DrXCE7gv2DqNHLWx0w”]The nurses had earlier given the government a three-day ultimatum and threatened to declare a strike, if the government fails to heed their calls.

They are accusing the Medical Director of maladministration and showing gross disrespect to subordinates.

Before the agitation against Dr. Dordoye, the hospital in August threatened to discharge over 100 patients, due to the lack of funds to run the facility.

Speaking to Citi News, the Deputy Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Psychiatric Nurses’ Group, Benjamin Anewotey, said several discussions with officials of the Health Ministry have proven futile hence the decision to declare a strike.

He said the action today was because the nurses have not heard from the Minister of Health “so we are laying down our tools from now till we hear something from whether the minister or through management.”

This strike is set to lead to the closure of the Out Patient Department [OPD] and the early discharge of patients.

“Those in the wards are being discharged prematurely due to our strike… those who will be coming to the OPD, none of them will be attended to by nurses. Every nurse is laying down their tools,” Mr. Anewotey said.

It is not only nursing staff that is embarking on the sit-down strike, but “the entire hospital staff,” he added.

Other hospitals to join?

The Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital has over 400 staff in all, and according to Mr. Anewotey, they are set to be supported by other psychiatric hospitals.

“We have been assured that all the psychiatric hospitals in Ghana and our colleagues in the community will be joining us in this fight,” he disclosed.

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By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital staff begin strike; Patients ‘set free’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The General Secretary of CETAG, Prince Obeng-Himah, confirmed to Citi News that the teachers would return to the classrooms following assurances from the government that the arrears would be paid to them by April 2018.

[contextly_sidebar id=”tKBqAmtPKocKL3faPqZfeCGoGPZh03RP”]He said despite the fact that they had expected to be paid earlier than agreed date, the teachers were “satisfied” with the agreement, and would “definitely” return to work on Thursday.

The decision to call off the strike was made after the Association held a crunch meeting earlier today [Wednesday], to deliberate on their next line of action.

“After almost seven hours of closed-door discussions, we came to some agreements which we committed to paper yesterday [Tuesday]. Three national officers of CETAG signed and three Cabinet Ministers – the Employment and Labour Relations Minister, the Education Minister and a deputy Finance Minister – also signed for the government. The details of the agreement was that the salaries in question would be paid by government, specifically, in the first quarter [of 2018],” he said.

Gov’t, CETAG negotiations on salary arrears initially broke down

The teachers had declared the strike a few weeks ago, but had indicated that they were willing to call it off following government’s intervention, and the commencement of discussions on the matter.

All 38 Colleges of Education across the country which were closed because of the strike, are expected to reopen tomorrow [Thursday], following the turn of events.

Trainee teachers want semester extended

The Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana (TTAG), on Tuesday petitioned the Education Ministry for an extension of the semester’s academic calendar to enable them make up for the time lost following the ongoing strike by their teachers.

According to them, an extended schedule would enable them stand a better chance of passing their upcoming examinations

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By: Ann-Shirley Ziwu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post CETAG calls off 3-week old strike over salary arrears appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Speaking to Citi News, the National President of the Teacher Trainees Association of Ghana, Jonathan Apam, explained that an extension of the academic calendar had become necessary in order for the students to stand a better chance of passing their upcoming exams.

[contextly_sidebar id=”8wk9QSqP5ViGsch8L13lMGJ3Pf9jmT33″]“They should postpone the academic calendar from where it has been scheduled for because exams are upcoming. Institute of Education should look into the academic calendar. No government institution or stakeholder will say, when students pass out of the result of the strike, they will only say they didn’t learn and that’s how come they failed or were sacked out of the colleges “he said.

The trainees had earlier warned that if government fails to ensure the return of their tutors to the classrooms soon, they would be forced to take other steps to bring pressure to bear on the administration.

Jonathan Apam, at the time, described the consequences of the strike as dire, hence the need for government’s immediate intervention.

“We are trying to propagate the effects of it [strike] because it appears government is not aware of how the strike is affecting students. For about two, three weeks now, our teachers have not been teaching. This is the time that second years are doing all methods of teaching. This is the time that we have newly admitted students. This is the time that trainee teachers in the basic schools doing their teaching practice are supposed to be supervised. If we fail… we will be sacked. Cape Coast or Institute of Education will not care whether there was a strike or not,” he said.

Colleges remain closed

The 38 Colleges across the country remain closed after djalogue between the government and striking members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), yielded no result.

CETAG have been on strike since November 2, 2017, demanding the immediate payment of their nine-month salary arrears, allowances and market premiums.

The tutors are also seeking improved conditions of service.

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By: Farida Yusif & Akosua Ofeiwaa Opoku/Citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Trainee teachers want semester extended after lecturers’ strike appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.