The three teacher unions leading the ongoing strike have rejected calls to return to the classroom, saying they will only suspend the action after the government takes tangible steps to resolve their outstanding demands.
The decision was taken after a meeting with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, who appealed to the unions to call off the strike and resume teaching, assuring them that the government was working to address their concerns.
The unions are the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG).
Their demands include the payment of outstanding promotion arrears and progress in negotiations on their conditions of service.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Head of Salaries, Grievances and Negotiations at GNAT, Isaac Baah, said the unions were no longer willing to accept verbal assurances from the government.
“Indeed, we met the minister and his team this afternoon with regard to our strike action. It has been the old story of promises upon promises,” he said.
“At the moment, we are not taking promises. We want action.”
Mr Baah said teachers would remain off duty until the government demonstrated that it had fulfilled its commitments.
“Our teachers must continue to stay home until we see something concrete,” he said.
He explained that the unions expected the outstanding salaries and arrears to be reflected on teachers’ payslips and paid into their accounts before they would consider ending the strike.
“Until we see the salary and the arrears reflecting on our payslips and credited to our accounts, until we see that, we are not going back to school,” he said.
Mr Baah added that the industrial action would continue until the outstanding concerns raised by the unions were fully addressed.
