Teachers insist on allowances by Monday ... But govt calls for restraint
Three teachers’ unions have vowed to do everything within their power to impress on the government to pay teachers their outstanding salary arrears and allowances by Monday, February 29, 2016.
Advertisement
They warned that failure on the part of the government to do so would compel them to lay down their tools.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) made known their resolve at a press conference in Accra Tuesday.
Government appeal
But the government has appealed to the teachers unions to rescind their decision since discussions are still underway to find an amicable solution to the challenges.
The Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, who led the government delegation in a meeting between the government and the teachers unions Tuesday, appealed to teachers not to go ahead with their intended strike, “even though we respect their right to demonstrate”.
The meeting again ended inconclusively, as the teachers unions were tasked to relay the position of the government to their constituents for a feedback.
Sources at the meeting said the atmosphere had been cordial and believed that by today when they reconvened, “it is likely we will conclude on it”.
The sources said the major concern of the government was to ensure that the academic calendar was not disrupted, as it worked to address the teachers’ concerns.
Press confab by three unions
Speaking at a joint press conference by the three unions in Accra Tuesday, the President of NAGRAT, Mr Christian Addai-Poku, alleged that last Friday, during a press conference by the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Director-General of the GES, Mr Jacob Kor, was quoted as saying that the government did not owe teachers any salary arrears and that “all outstanding arrears for teachers who qualified have been paid by January 1, 2016”.
He said Mr Kor also mentioned that the government had released GH¢1 million for the payment of all outstanding allowances and transfer grants for teachers.
He further quoted the Director-General of the GES as saying that teachers who had not been paid their arrears either presented incomplete or fake particulars and documents for the processing of their money.
Mr Addai-Poku described the claims by the government as “highly untenable and false”.
He said per a letter written by Mr Kor to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) on January 12, 2016, the salary arrears could not have been paid by January 1, 2016.
The said letter, he explained, was to apprise the FWSC and other stakeholders on 27,000 outstanding applications yet to be forwarded to the Ghana Audit Service for validation and payment.
“The big question then is, how can the Director-General refer a list of 27,000 teachers to the FWSC for its action on January 12, 2016 and still claim that these teachers have been paid on January 1, 2016?” he asked.
Fake documents
On the issue of teachers using fake documents to support their applications for arrears, Mr Addai-Poku said the assertion was baseless and a defamation of the reputation of the affected teachers.
“If these teachers are fraudsters, as he seeks to imply, then why are they still at post? Majority of the affected teachers have been placed on the payroll and continue to receive their salaries every month,” he explained.
Allowances
With regard to the payment of outstanding allowances, he said the government owed teachers an estimated GH¢16 million because it had failed to pay the allowances of teachers for the past four years.
According to him, the GH¢1 million released by the government to pay the allowances only covered the first three months of 2015, adding, “It is, therefore, strange that our Director-General could confidently look teachers in the eye and, indeed, all Ghanaians in the face and tell us that GH¢16 million minus GHc1 million is equal to zero.”
