GNAT unhappy with government over pension scheme
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has expressed worry about the inability of the government to lodge accruals from the second tier of the three tier pension scheme into a GNAT private fund manager to cater for its members who would retire next year.
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The gestation period of the new pension scheme is expected to end next year and the whereabouts of the accruals cannot be located, resulting in agitations among members of GNAT.
The Volta Regional Secretary of GNAT, Mr Linus Attey, expressed these sentiments at a press briefing at the regional secretariat of GNAT in Ho.
Non-payment of salary arrears
He said teachers were unhappy about the “feet-dragging” posture of their employers concerning grievances such as the non-payment of full arrears to teachers who had worked for more than two years, issues of promotion, non-payment of transfer grant and T&T, as well as the lack of a collective bargaining agreement, which defines conditions of service.
Mr Attey observed that the “feet dragging” had affected the output of teachers, and urged the government to pay attention to the grievances of teachers to avert industrial strife.
Respect for labour law
He indicated that teachers respected the labour law and had love for schoolchildren and so a strike action would be the last resort to addressing their grievances.
According to the GNAT secretary, the strike by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) is premature, adding that the two associations should have bidden for more time to build a consensus to achieve the needed results on behalf of teachers.
Restraint from strike
Mr Attey said the fact that GNAT did not embark on a strike did not mean that there were no grievances but because the government was getting committed to some of the grievances “we decided to hold on for a cooling-off” period after negotiation to enable the leadership to take the right decision.
In his contribution, the acting Regional Chairman of GNAT, Mr Godwin Sadzi, assured members that the leadership would not disappoint them, and advised them that they should comport themselves for now, since the leadership would find it difficult to defend any deviant behaviour.
He stressed that they should go about their duties conscientiously in order to attract public sympathy.
