Labour Commission Orders Teacher Unions To Call Off Illegal Strike

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has ordered the three pre-tertiary teachers’ unions embarking on an industrial strike action to call it off immediately. 

On Wednesday, March 20, 2024 , the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH)  declared an industrial strike effective that same day. 

They attributed the move to the failure of the Ministry of Education and its implementing agency, the Ghana Education Service (GES) to put in place better conditions of service. 

Issues highlighted by the teachers were the absence of an appropriate Scheme of Service and a Collective Agreement, rampant changes in school calendar without recourse to the teachers, inefficient distribution of laptops and the blockage of some teachers’ salaries by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP). 

In a statement signed by the Chairperson of the National Labour Commission, Justice Kwabena Asuman-Adu, the NLC ordered the unions to rescind their decision because it was not in compliance with Section 159 of Act 651 of the Labour Act. 

The order, the statement said, was in pursuance of Section 133 (1) of the same Labour Act, 2003. 

Furthermore, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has also described the industrial action embarked on by the three teacher unions as unlawful and a show of bad faith.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the commission, Benjamin Arthur, said the commission had been engaging with the leadership of the unions, and the parties had agreed to continue negotiations today [Thursday, March 21, 2024].

He, therefore, called on the teacher unions to call off the strike immediately and return to the negotiation table.

“We were surprised that without serving the employer and the National Labour Commission with any notice, the teacher unions decided to embark on the strike. We believe that the action is in bad faith, and we, therefore, call on the leadership of the unions to call off the strike while negotiation continues,” he said.

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