The Ghana Education Service (GES) has emphasized that contrary to arguments of the various pre-tertiary unions, they have no basis to go on strike lik
The Ghana Education Service (GES) has emphasized that contrary to arguments of the various pre-tertiary unions, they have no basis to go on strike like they are threatening.
Earlier this month, teacher unions of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) in a statement raised concern over unfavourable situations hampering academic activities in schools in the country.
Threatening to embark on an industrial strike at the end of September, the unions raised issues concerning teaching and learning resources, contact and working hours, upgrading of teachers and promotions.
“We, the teacher unions are hereby serving notice that if by the close of September 2021, all these issues are not resolved in full by the employer, then we will have no option than to advise ourselves in the best interest of our members within the framework of our collective agreement and the applicable laws of Ghana,” part of a joint statement from the Unions said.
Reacting to the issues of the teacher unions at a press conference on August 26, 2021, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa alluded that the teachers have no basis to strike.
According to him, the issue of teachers being overburdened with more working hours are untrue and should not be taken seriously.
“During the press conference by the teacher unions, they said they are doing more than they should be doing but let me indicate that, they are not doing more than they should be doing. If for any reason they are doing more than that, I want to assure you that at the time that we were drawing the calendar when COVID-19 broke out, we had extensive discussions with stakeholders, and they were key stakeholders in those discussions, and we agreed on the modalities and contact hours, so they can’t be doing more,” Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa said.
Meanwhile, checks have revealed that the teacher unions are not happy with the stance of GES and are planning to picket at the end of next month if their concerns are not addressed.
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