Teachers losing hope as union meet FWSC over allowances
The morale and hopes of teachers are gradually fading away, and ever the possibility of getting the government to approve allowances proposed by union leaders. For some teachers, they have lost the battle long before the strike was called off.
The unions have proposed raising the Professional Development Allowance from GHS1200 to GHS3000 per month. They have also tabled a 20% base pay allowance to be paid to teachers in deprived localities, as well as other minor but important allowances that would cover the cost of transportation among others for teachers.
Are teachers losing hope as union meet FWSC over allowances?
While the leaders continue to negotiate on behalf of educators, a cross-section of educators have already thrown in the towel.
In a post sighted by Ghanaeducationnews.org on Facebook, a teacher asked if there was “any update on the teacher union leaders and FWSC meeting.”?
From the responses sampled, teachers are not sure the leaders of the GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT-Ghana would succeed. It’s disheartening to learn that some teachers believe their leaders have accepted bribes and are unwilling to stand up for them. “They collected bribes. They were using us for their selfish interests.”
One of the teachers who commented on the said post called on colleague teachers to forget the fight: “YOU PEOPLE SHOULD FORGET LA. CANT YOU SEE THEY HAVE BEEN BRIBED? LOOK HOW THE STRIKE STARTED AND HOW IT HAS ENDED. TWEAA. THAT’S GHANA LEADERS FOR YOU” He stated.
For others, the decision by transport operators to increase truck fares before the end of the month must challenge teacher union leaders to continue to put pressure on the government to approve all three allowances proposed by the unions. “Lorry fares have been increased, so the union leaders should do the needful,” one of the teachers indicated.
It is important that the unions stay focused on their quest to get the government to listen to them for the first time in many instances. The more the government is able to frustrate the efforts of the unions, the more the unions will be compelled to give up on the fight.
It is expected that a positive outcome will be achieved by the union leaders by Monday, April 15, 2024. In the absence of this, the teacher unions may defy the court order and declare a new strike action when schools reopen for the third term of the 2023–2024 academic year.
This portal will keep readers and teachers updated on any developments in the ongoing negotiations as and when updates are received.
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In a related development, some teachers who are yet to be posted by the GES but have met all the requirements have been seeking to know when the GES will open its recruitment portal. “If there is a need for any update, then it should be about when the portal will be opened for recruitment,” a worried educator stated while contributing to the ongoing strike and negotiations.
