The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has rejected an appeal from the Education Minister to call off an industrial strike that has travelled for over a month.
A letter from the Minister triggered a voting process at local unions in the 46 state-run institutions. Forty-four of them rejected the decision to suspend their industrial action.
The Methodist College of Education voted to suspend the strike for two weeks but would resume if their welfare concerns were not satisfactorily addressed.
The St. Louis College of Education, however, was yet to state its position during the exercise.
CETAG members are up in arms against the government after the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s unilateral action to vary CETAG’s 2021 Conditions of Service to a later date.
Minister’s letter
In the letter to the Association, the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adu-Twum indicated that the pending issues would be resolved within two weeks after the immediate suspension of the industrial action.
“I reiterate the plea for the strike to be called off for further discussions on the following: the effective date of implementation of the conditions of service, generic allowances, compensation for all year-round work and the determination of a road map for the staff audit,” he stated.
NUGS unhappy
The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), has expressed concern about the frequency of industrial actions carried out by the country’s tertiary institutions.
NUGS in a release signed by its President, Dennis Appiah Larbi-Ampofo stated that tertiary education in the country is heading towards danger as a result of the strikes.
NUGS says it came to that conclusion after a meeting held on December 5, 2022, with the National Executive Council to consider the current state of strike actions.
At least four educational workers’ unions across all public universities and all Colleges of Education are currently on strike.
They are; the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), the Teachers and Educational Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU) and the Technical University Senior Administrators’ Association of Ghana (TUSAAG).
Ashantibiz
