Return to the negotiation table – Fair Wages and Salaries Commission tells teacher unions
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has urged the three teacher unions currently on a nationwide strike to call off the industrial action and return to the negotiation table for a conclusive engagement.
The unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).
In a press statement issued on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, the unions stated that their intent to embark on a nationwide strike follows the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service’s delay in addressing their conditions of service.
According to the unions, the negotiation of a new collective agreement should have been completed on or before February 29, 2024, but that was not done as requested.
“Thus, the new Collective Agreement stands un-negotiated and we raised this concern in our letter to the Director General GES, dated February 29th, 2024, and also informed the National Labour Commission. As we gather here now, the issue is still outstanding,” part of the statement said.
However, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Ing. Benjamin Arthur insists that negotiations are underway to address the unions’ grievances.
According to him, “We have been engaging them over a period concerning some requests that they placed before the employer for negotiations”.
“We’re committed, willing, and open to engage, and we’ve demonstrated that by inviting them.
“If what they [the Teacher Unions] have cited as delays is anything to go by, then the strike is really what’s going to cause the delay because we’ve made tremendous progress”.
“We were expectant that Thursday by 1400 hours [2:00 pm] at least, we should be able to conclude the negotiation,” he stated.
He further explained that the Commission had recently facilitated the release of funds from the Ministry of Finance in the wake of wage negotiations.
Find the full statement from FWSC to the teacher unions below;