Newly Recruited Teachers To Strike 22 May

Members of the Newly Recruited Teachers from Colleges of Education have issued a notice of a nationwide strike on Monday 22 May, for the non-payment of their salary arrears.

The teachers said their action had become necessary following the silence of the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service, and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department over six months’ unpaid salaries.

“There is no justifiable reason behind the non-payment of our salary arrears because the Ministry of Finance granted the financial clearance before our recruitment, therefore, the Ministry of Finance made funds available for the payment of our salaries,” the teachers said in a statement.

“Also, the one out of seven months’ salary received is not general: many members who two months ago [went] through the necessary processes successfully are yet to receive their first salaries. It would interest you to note that the Minister of Education, with his Ministry, has failed to acknowledge receipt of our letters let alone give us feedback about what is going on or to ensure that we get our salary arrears.”

The teachers said they had had enough of the “deceptive and hollow assurances” of the Ghana Education Service. They said they had realised that their employer, GES, was working against them as the head of the IPPD unit stymied the directive of the Minister of Education to ensure they got all their salary arrears.

The teachers have, therefore, called on all stakeholders of education to consider their grievances or they embark on a nationwide strike on Monday until they receive their salary arrears.