Promotion arrears alone cannot end teachers’ strike — PRETAG

The Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) says the government’s commitment to clear outstanding promotion arrears will not, on its own, be enough to bring an end to the nationwide teachers’ strike.

The association says several demands contained in agreements with government remain unresolved, making it difficult for the teacher unions to suspend the industrial action based solely on assurances over the payment of arrears.

Among the concerns is a 20% professional allowance which, according to PRETAG, has remained outstanding despite commitments made by successive administrations.

The association says teachers are still waiting for concrete action on the allowance as well as other provisions contained in their collective agreement.

PRETAG President King Ali Awudu recalled that the issue dates back several years, pointing to an announcement by former Education Minister Alex Tetteh-Enyo in 2009 that government intended to introduce the allowance for teachers.

“We are in 2026, and we are talking about the same thing that His Excellency also promised,” he said.

Mr Awudu maintained that the unions needed more than assurances on promotion arrears before reconsidering the strike. “Our collective agreement with government is not willing to give us anything. These last two have not been met,” he said.

He acknowledged government’s decision to begin processing some outstanding promotion arrears and the commitment to complete the payments by October 30, but said the move did not resolve the broader issues underpinning the industrial action.

“The idea of calling off the strike is such a difficult one,” Mr Awudu said, insisting that concrete steps on the outstanding demands would be necessary for the unions to reconsider their position.

His comments follow an assurance from Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu that government would settle the outstanding promotion arrears by October 30.

The Minister has pledged to take responsibility should the deadline not be met, but the teacher unions have maintained their strike pending action on their wider demands and conditions of service.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.