By Benjamin Nii Nai Anyetei
The Minister for Labour, Jobs and Employment, Dr. Rashid Pelpuo, has appealed to members of the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) to suspend their ongoing strike and return to negotiations.
Speaking in an interview with 3News in Accra on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, Dr. Pelpuo said government was close to resolving the union’s concerns and warned that the strike could stall progress.
“We expected that once they had these challenges, they would have listened to us until we solved the problem. They are on strike — I just spoke with the Labour Commission — and their expectation is that TEWU will call off the strike because it hasn’t followed the legal process by which a strike is declared,” he stated.
He stressed that government was not only aware of TEWU’s grievances but was taking concrete steps to address them.
“They want something concrete — and we are going to give them something concrete. They want the gap between teaching staff and non-teaching staff to be narrowed, and they also want to ensure the allowance meant to close that gap is supported. That’s exactly what we’re working on,” Dr. Pelpuo assured.
The Minister also explained that wage-related decisions take time due to their broader impact on the national budget.
“Economic decisions are not taken overnight. Every decision has consequences on the budget. So, before a budget is read, many things are considered. In this case, after discussions with the Minister of Finance, we’ve virtually concluded what they want.”
Dr. Pelpuo said he had expected continued dialogue rather than industrial action, insisting that the issues “will be resolved” and urging union leaders to work closely with their members to maintain trust.
