Teacher unions declare indefinite strike, withdraw all services

The teacher unions declare an indefinite strike and have withdrawn all services.

The various teacher unions have unanimously declared an industrial strike which takes effect today, 4th July, 2022.

In a press release copied to Ghana Education News, the statement indicated that the unions gave the government up to 30th June 2022 to respond to their demands for the payment of the Cost of Leaving Allowance (COLA)

Four teacher unions have declared an indefinite nationwide strike – effective Monday, July 4 – over demands for the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).

READ: Schools remain open despite teacher unions strike – GES

The unions, comprising the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT), are demanding that the 20% of their basic salary be paid to them.

They have blamed their industrial action on the government’s failure to pay the COLA, which they argue could have helped to mitigate the impact of the rising cost of living.

But after a June 30 deadline was exhausted, the workers have withdrawn their services, both in and outside the classroom.

Speaking at a joint press conference on Monday, the General Secretary of the GNAT, Thomas Musah, stated that all their calls on government for appropriate action have fallen on deaf ears.

“We can no longer bear the hardship. Even more so, we reject the inequality of salaries in the public services of this country. We have been compelled under the current circumstances to publicly communicate to Ghanaians on our intention to go on strike, having gone past the June 30, 2022 deadline [that] we gave the government for the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance.

“Consequently, we have decided to embark on a strike action effective today, Monday, July 4, 2022. By this, we are informing the general public that we are withdrawing all our services in all the pre-tertiary education space – this includes teaching and non-teaching staff,” he announced.