3 teacher unions down tools!… as they back demands for termination of new GES D-G appointment

The leadership of three Teacher Unions have asked its members to withdraw their services in all pre-tertiary education institutions as it embarks on an industrial strike effective yesterday.

They are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-Ghana).

The three Teacher Unions at a press conference in Accra yesterday, said the decision to embark on the strike was due to government’s failure to heed to its call to terminate the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah as the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) after the November 4 ultimatum.

“It must be stated that the Director-General position is the preserve of Educationalists and has been occupied by Educationalists since its creation.

We have been compelled under the current circumstances to publicly communicate to Ghanaians on our intension to go on stroke having reached the November 4 deadline we gave government,” the President of GNATRev.Isaac Owusu, who read the press statement on behalf of the three unions said.

He noted thatthe appointment of Dr Nkansah, who the Unions indicated was not an educationist, was contrary to the substantive and procedural rules of the Collective Agreement 2020.

The purpose of the Agreement which was signed between the GES and the Teacher Unions was to set forth the condition of service relating to salaries, wages, hours of work and other conditions of service and rules of employment.

Rev. Owusu said that another reason behind the strike was the extension of the Deputy Director-General of the GES, Mr Anthony Boateng in order to bring him back into the educational system.

He further explained that the Unions would be meeting with the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations after the press conference to try and find a lasting solution to the issue following an invitation by the Minister.

Rev.Owusu, however, said the leadership of the Unions were unhappy at the timing and the mode of the invitation saying, they only received the invitation letters late.

For his part, the President of NAGRAT, Mr Angel Carbonuindicated that aside the termination of the appointment of the Acting Director-General of the GES and the extension of service of Mr Boateng, there were other pressing issues that were yet to be addressed.

Some of these issues, Mr Carbonu said, were the promotion and upgrading of teachers, failure and supposed refusal by the GES and government to pay car maintenance and deprived areas allowance and the termination of teachers rising to ranks due to unavailability of space in the district and regional offices.

For instance, he said that “the last time the car maintenance allowance was paid was in 2018. We have information that monies have been released for car maintenance allowance but the monies have not been paid to the teachers.”

Mr Carbonu further underscored the need for the GES to engage the Unions on how to get a new Collective Agreement in place as the current one ends in August next year.

BY BENJAMIN ARCTON-TETTEY