A meeting between three striking teacher unions ( Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana) and Government led by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations over the condition of service of teachers, ended inconclusive on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
The almost two-hour closed-door meeting at the Employment Ministry ended abruptly after the teacher unions refused to call off their industrial action ahead of negotiations with the government team.
The Government team comprised the Ministers of Education and Employment and Labour Relations and Officials from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
Professor Charles Adabo Oppong, Director of Grievances and Negotiations at the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, disclosed this to the media at the end of the meeting.
He said they, the Government team, was willing to continue negotiations with the Unions only if they called off the strike as directed by the National Labour Commission (NLC).
“If they called off the strike, we will be ever ready to continue the negotiations with them as directed by the National Labour Commission for them to do so prior to our meeting with them,” he stressed.
The NLC at a meeting with the Unions on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, directed that they called off the strike and continue negotiations with their employers the following day, Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 1400 hours.
The Unions, however, said they would have to use their “internal procedures” to call off the industrial action.
The three teacher unions declared nationwide industrial action on March 20, 2024, over their conditions of service.
They said their action was based on nine demands – provision of laptops to the teachers, scheme of service, blockage of salaries by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Continuous Professional Development Allowance, Deprived Area Allowance, Rent Allowance, Transport Allowance, Utility Subsidy Allowance, and Teaching Assessment Allowance.
GNA
KK
27 March 24
Pictures attached
