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Pre-tertiary teacher unions have declared they will not accept any government request for additional time to address the grievances that prompted their nationwide strike, demanding immediate payment of outstanding arrears owed to them.
The unions are scheduled to convene with Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu on Monday, September 28, at 10:30am to address their concerns regarding service conditions and unresolved payment obligations.
Teachers are seeking payment of salary arrears, including deprived-area allowances and promotion arrears for teachers who have received promotions.
Kingsley Anyimadu, Communications Director of the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), informed Citi News on Monday, September 28, that the unions have no additional demands to present to the government and anticipate that outstanding payments will be processed.
“There are three major issues. Two of them concern payment, and we have no new matters to raise. Our sole expectation is for the government to settle these payments.
“The first matter is the Deprived Area Allowance. This has been under negotiation. It remains unpaid, despite assurances that it would be disbursed by the end of September. This commitment has not been fulfilled,” he stated.
Mr Anyimadu further noted that approximately 80,000 promoted teachers have not yet received their promotion arrears, despite previous discussions with government representatives on this issue.
He indicated that the unions met with the Education Minister, the Controller and Accountant-General, and the Finance Minister in August and September, during which they received assurances that outstanding payments would be resolved by month’s end.
“September has ended, salary has come, and it has not been paid. So what else do they want us to discuss? What else? Going to plead for more time.
“If they do and they make any attempt to plead for more time, that will be dangerous because teachers will never ever understand. No way. We’ve gone beyond meetings. We are now at the point of payment,” he stressed.
The gathering takes place following announcements by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), and PRETAG, who have initiated an immediate nationwide strike to address persistent grievances, including outstanding promotion arrears and prolonged delays in discussions regarding their employment conditions.