The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is pushing for clear procedures to guide the implementation of teachers’ conditions of service, warning that agreements risk remaining unfulfilled for years without a defined process for accessing the benefits.
GNAT President Prosper Tachie said the union wants the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) to finalise the procedures for implementing the provisions of the collective agreement before concluding outstanding negotiations.
Speaking on JoyNews‘ Newsfile, he said implementation had been a major challenge in previous agreements, with benefits often left hanging despite agreements being reached.
“One of the major challenges confronting us so far as our collective agreement is concerned is about implementation. We will agree to the substantive document, but when it comes to procedural matters, as to how to assess the benefits within the document, we leave it hanging over the years, and this time round we are not ready for such a commitment,” he said.
Mr Tachie said GNAT wanted the relevant authorities to specify how teachers would access the benefits provided under the agreement.
“We want the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, to finalise the document specifying processes of assessing certain benefits within the document,” he added.
His comments follow the pre-tertiary teachers’ decision to suspend its nationwide strike after engagements involving the Labour Minister and the Council of State, alongside assurances from the government on outstanding demands.
The government has committed to paying promotion-related arrears to more than 51,000 teachers by October 16. Payments relating to the professional development allowance and digital support allowance are expected in November and December, respectively.
Mr Tachie said the union had also secured revised positions on some allowances following negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Ministry of Finance.
He stressed that the suspension of the strike was interim, with discussions on outstanding provisions of the collective agreement expected to continue.
Teachers are expected to return to the classrooms on Monday, October 12.
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