Mega strike looms as teacher unions and others are unhappy with govt’s posture on negotiations

Posted on by WISDOM HAMMOND
Free SHS students are more important to gov't than teachers and their strike

Following the call-off of a two-week strike by three teacher unions, the teacher unions have stated that they are unhappy with the government’s posture on negotiations.

The three pre-tertiary teacher unions expected the government to show a high level of commitment; however, there is every indication that the government is not ready to give the unions what they are demanding.

The negotiation approach by the government is leading to a more worrying looting strike in the not-distant future.

According to the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-Ghana), the attitude of the government is sending the wrong signal to the unions.

So far, the negotiations have not yielded any results, as the government has not responded to the demands of the unions.

“All this while, our negotiations have not achieved any meaningful outcome. More disappointing is the fact that the government team does not seem to have the requisite mandate to respond adequately to our demands,” the unions said in a statement in Accra yesterday.

The leadership of the unions has cautioned the government that the unions should not be apportioned blame if something happens next.

The letter, which could be described as a caution letter to the government, indicated that “in the event of any brouhaha at the pre-tertiary level, teacher union leaders must not be blamed.”.

In a related development, members of nine labour unions making up ‘The Forum’ have threatened to lay down their tools by April 30, 2024. The government is expected to meet with the labour unions. At the time of filing this report, the TUC has indicated that it has joined the FORUM to strike on May 2nd if the government does not respond favourably to the demands of unions.
“The forum has already given notice of a strike on May 2; we will want to send this notice to the government that by April 30 if they don’t do anything about the second-tier on May 2, we will all join the strike, and I can’t imagine what will happen in this country if they allow this to happen,” the Secretary General of TUC, Dr. Yaw Baah, said while speaking at a conference.

This means labour unions will more likely declare a nationwide strike on May Day, which happens to be Workers Day, should the government fail to respond in the manner expected.

 

 

The ten unions that are expected to declare the strike on May 2 are:
  1. The Civil and Local Government Staff Association (CLOGSAG)
  2. Ghana Medical Association (GMA)
  3. Ghana Registered Nurses and Midwives Association (GRNMA)
  4. Judicial Service Staff Association (JUSAG)
  5. Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT)
  6. The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT)
  7. Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT)
  8. Ghana Association of Anaesthetists
  9. Government and Hospital Pharmacists Association (GHOSPA)
  10. Trade Union Congress (TUC)

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