Three major Teacher Unions in the Ghana Education Service have Unanimously declared a nationwide strike effective Monday,December 9,2019 over legacy salary arrears of 2012 to 2016.
The three Unions ,the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers – Ghana (CCT-GH) made this declaration on Thursday,December 5,2019 in a joint press conference in Accra.
Purpose of Strike
Defending their decision,the teacher unions said they had being invited to a meeting on Thursday, November 28 by the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations in the presence of representatives of the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) and the Ghana Audit Service (GAS).
The main purpose on the meeting according to the teachers was to discuss the legacy arrears of 2012 to 2016.
The teachers said they were concerned with the payment of the said arrears, because their checks had revealed that the arrears had been verified and approved for payment by the Controller and Accountant General’s Internal Audit Unit, about three weeks earlier.
They also emphasised, that they had been informed that the verified data had been sent to GES for review.
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“Primarily, we the unions were concerned with the payment of the said arrears, because our checks had revealed that the arrears had been verified and approved for payment by the Controller and Accountant General’s Internal Audit Unit, about three weeks earlier,” they said.
GES Outlines Reasons for Non-Payment of Arrears
The teachers moreover argued that the GES refused to take action on the payment of the salary arrears after claiming there were discrepancies with some of the data.
According to the GES, some teachers were paid on ranks they were not on while many others did not have records on the payroll between 2012 and 2014.
The GES also said that some teachers were not owed any arrears , yet were credit with huge somes of money.
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It further claimed that some teachers were employed as PUPIL TEACHERS but were paid as Senior Superintendents.
The Service cited how some female teachers were paid as Night Watchmen.
Teacher Unions reject Claim
The teacher unions jointly rejected the claims by GES by indicating that the data had been verified by a professional body as the CAGD,and consequently gave GES up till Thursday, December 5 to pay all the arrears.
The teacheers said they were not prepared to see our teachers suffer, as a result of the negligence of any person or body.
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They teachers said their pleas have all fallen on deaf ears,a reason for their current action.
“We are not prepared to see our teachers suffer, as a result of the negligence of any person or body.”
Download: Document of Teacher Unions Strike action beginning December 9
Source: EducationGhana.net
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