[ 2017-11-09 ]

Colleges of Education still closed as talks over arrears fail
Dialogue between the government and striking
members of the Colleges of Education Teachers
Association of Ghana (CETAG), yielded no result as
the 38 Colleges across the country remain
closed.

The meeting called by the government in an
attempt to get the teachers to call off
their strike, ended without any concrete
assurance to CETAG.

Members of CETAG have been on strike since
November 2, 2017, demanding the immediate payment
of their nine-month salary arrears, allowances and
market premiums.

CETAG is also seeking improved conditions of
service.
A spokesperson for ETAG, Charles Amoah Adjei,
noted that the Finance Minister was noncommittal
as far as their demands were concerned.

“…upon deliberations and consultations,
we realized that the money cannot be paid
instantly. So we are of the view that the
government should commit itself by writing to
tell us that we are going to pay the allowances by
the end of November.”

The Finance Ministry representative, however
indicated the need for consultation with her
superiors before any decision is taken.

“All that we told them was that; we are waiting
patiently for them to come out with a written
document indicating that the arrears will be
paid at the end of the month. When we get this, we
will gladly move to the classroom. If not, we will
continue with the strike.”

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has made
pleas to CETAG to reconsider their decision to
strike but to no avail.

CETAG has lamented that, despite a directive by
the commission asking the Ministry of Finance to
pay the arrears within two weeks, its members are
yet to be paid.

According to them, per the migration of the
tertiary statuses of the Colleges of Education
following the passage of the Colleges of Education
Act 847 in 2012, the teachers were expected to be
paid the salary difference between their previous
salary levels and the new salaries from January to
September 2016.

Source - citifmonline.com

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