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The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, appealed on behalf of the government during a meeting with the unions in Accra yesterday, following their strike announcement last Friday.
Following the meeting, Mr Iddrisu informed the media that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission would convene with the unions on Tuesday to “resume discussions regarding their collective agreement and employment conditions”.
Issues
Three teacher unions have initiated a nationwide strike in response to what they characterize as the government’s inability to address critical issues related to promotion allowance payments and outstanding teacher arrears.
In a joint statement issued on September 25, 2026, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) identified three primary concerns: delays in negotiating a new Collective Agreement, failure to automatically advance newly promoted teachers to appropriate salary levels, and non-execution of the Deprived Area Allowance.
The unions noted that the current Collective Agreement had lapsed, and negotiations for a replacement agreement, which should have concluded by June 2026, remained unresolved.
They emphasized that this matter had been repeatedly presented to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) without resolution.
The teacher unions are additionally demanding that teachers who successfully completed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 be automatically placed at their corresponding salary levels, with arrears payment retroactive to January 2026.
Progress
In briefing the unions on developments to date, Mr Iddrisu stated, “We have therefore established a validation committee under the chairmanship of the Minister of Employment and Labour to assess data regarding the government’s commitment to execute the 20 per cent rural deprivation allowance.”
“Be assured that the government of President Mahama remains committed to rolling out the rural deprive 20 per cent allowance effective January 2027, subject to the validation of the data and a defined roadmap to which the teacher union will be adequately represented,” he added.
Regarding the matter of salary grade adjustments following promotions, the Minister of Education announced that the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) would collaborate with the Controller and Accountant General from today through Monday at 4 p.m. to revise personnel data, facilitating salary processing at the new grade level.
Mr Iddrisu indicated that the Director-General of GES had been assigned to work throughout the weekend to ensure that information concerning approximately 80,000 affected teachers could be compiled and verified.
Presently, the ministry possesses data for 29,000 individuals regarding arrears, though salaries for September have already been disbursed.
“We cannot reverse the process. Therefore, the Controller and Accountant General’s commitment is to implement this for October. Should any supplementary matters arise, he will address them accordingly,” he stated.
Mr Iddrisu explained that the government delegation, headed by the Minister for Employment and Labour and supported by the Minister for Education, a representative from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Controller and Accountant General, and the Director-General of GES, have conducted transparent and candid discussions with teacher unions regarding their industrial action.
Unions remain resolute
Nevertheless, the unions maintain their position, insisting they require tangible proof of actions taken thus far before suspending their industrial action.
Following his meeting with government representatives, Isaac Nii Baah, Head of Salaries at GNAT, told the media that “this has been the familiar pattern of commitments without delivery.”
“At this stage, we are not accepting assurances.
We demand concrete results,” he stated.
“Our educators must remain away from work until we observe substantive progress, until we see the salaries and arrears reflected in our pay statements and deposited into our bank accounts,” the GNAT representative said.
Addokwei Ayikwei Awulley, Vice-President of PRETAG, noted that no meaningful progress had been achieved on any of the three matters.
“The issue about promotions they are giving new timelines and then issues about deprived areas allowance, there is no headway,” he said.
He reassured the general membership that all complaints had been formally presented and that additional guidance would be provided once an agreement was reached.