Striking Teachers Vow To Sit Home Until Gov’t Reasons Up

The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) says it will not call off its strike until its agreed-upon terms of the conditions of service are implemented by the government.

CETAG initiated the strike on August 1, citing the government’s failure to honour the NLC’s Arbitral Award Orders and the negotiated conditions of service since May 2, 2023.

The National Labour Commission (NLC) on Monday directed the government to immediately implement the agreed-upon terms of the conditions of service with the Association as the prolonged strike continues to disrupt the education sector.

Government is yet to comment on the NLC’s directive and implementation roadmap.

But the national president of the Association, Prince Obeng Himah in an interview on Eyewitness News on Citi FM said the only thing that will get them to return to the lecture halls is assurance that they will be paid at the end of the month.

“We expect the government to as soon as possible implement our condition of service and no evidence will be stronger than seeing a validation that will guarantee us that we are going to get paid at the end of the month and if we can see that we have been validated to be paid the all-year-round compensation that we asked for, if there is that assurance that our members are going to get the fifteen days leave, if there is that assurance, there are concrete steps being taken to show how the staff audit report is going to be implemented, then we will gladly go back to the lecture halls.”

Mr. Himah further commended the NLC’s directive calling it a win for the rule of law.

“I must say that what happened on Wednesday is a victory for the rule of law, and it seeks to validate our position that the National Labour Commission must always exist to protect the labour interest of both employers and employees and I commend them for the statement that they have made, and we are going to stay home and wait for government to come out with a complete thing, and then we move forward.”