Teacher unions reject return to class as government presents strike resolution roadmap

Ghana’s three major pre-tertiary teacher unions have maintained their nationwide strike despite a new government roadmap aimed at addressing their outstanding concerns, insisting that concrete action must be seen before teachers return to the classroom.

The development followed a meeting on Monday, September 28, 2026, between Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, representatives of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), alongside other government institutions involved in resolving the dispute.

The strike, which began on September 25, has affected teaching and learning in pre-tertiary schools as the unions press government over promotion-related arrears, the 20% Deprived Area Allowance and the renewal of their collective agreement

Government sets out measures to address teachers’ concerns

Following the discussions, Mr Iddrisu said government had engaged the unions on the issues behind the industrial action and was seeking to have them suspend the strike while negotiations continued.

One of the measures concerns the collective agreement covering teachers’ conditions of service. The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is expected to continue discussions with the unions on the outstanding negotiations.

Government has also announced a validation process for the proposed 20% rural deprived-area allowance for teachers.

According to the Education Minister, a validation committee has been constituted under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to examine the data required for the implementation of the allowance. Teacher union representatives are expected to participate in the process.

Mr Iddrisu said government remained committed to beginning implementation of the allowance in January 2027, subject to the completion of the validation exercise and an agreed roadmap.

Promotion arrears: GES given deadline to submit data

Another major issue discussed was the payment of salaries and arrears for teachers who have successfully gone through promotion but are yet to be placed on their appropriate salary grades.

The Education Minister said the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) had been tasked with submitting the outstanding data to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) for processing.

He said the data compilation exercise would continue, with regional directors and officers involved in the process expected to help accelerate the submission.

Government indicated that data on about 29,000 promoted teachers had so far been received in relation to the outstanding arrears, while the wider exercise is expected to cover nearly 80,000 promoted teachers.

Mr Iddrisu explained that the September payroll had already been processed, meaning the affected teachers could not have their new grades reflected in that month’s salaries.

He therefore said CAGD would work towards addressing the outstanding payments through the October payroll, including supplementary payments where applicable.

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Teacher unions say promises are no longer enough

Despite the government’s proposed measures, the teacher unions have rejected the appeal to immediately return to the classroom.

Speaking after the meeting, a union representative, Isaac Baah, said the unions were demanding tangible evidence that the commitments made by government were being implemented.

The unions’ position is that teachers should remain on strike until outstanding salaries and arrears are reflected on their payslips and credited to their accounts.

The unions have also raised concerns about the absence of concrete documentation on the proposed 20% deprived-area allowance.

PRETAG Vice President Adukwei Ayikwei Awuley said the meeting had not produced a concrete agreement on the three main issues driving the strike: promotion matters, the deprived-area allowance and the collective agreement.

He said the unions would return to their respective councils to consider the outcome of the engagement before taking further decisions.

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Strike continues as negotiations remain ongoing

The latest development therefore leaves the nationwide teacher strike unresolved.

Government has presented timelines and administrative measures covering promotion-related salary adjustments, negotiations on teachers’ conditions of service and validation of the proposed deprived-area allowance.

The unions, however, say they want to see those commitments translated into concrete outcomes before ending the industrial action.

For teachers, schools and parents, the immediate issue remains whether the ongoing engagements will produce sufficient progress for the unions to suspend the strike and resume teaching.

The next stages of the negotiations and the processing of the outstanding promotion-related payments will therefore be closely watched as the dispute continues.