Fight, not teachers alone
The desire of teachers to ensure justice and equity in the labour market has sometimes informed them to threaten industrial action to seek redress.
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Unfortunately, because teachers are not members of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and do not have a single association, they do not receive the kind of public support that they deserve and need to make an impact.
There are others who do not approve of industrial action in negotiations and, thus, withdraw tacit support for the teachers actions.
There is also the irony of the lot of teachers. Although their superiors within the Ghana Education Service taught in the classroom for years, they appear not to be keen on promoting the welfare of their counterparts in the classrooms.
As soon as they leave the teaching field and put down the chalk or marker, they become a new breed.
In their latest struggles, the teachers led by the National Association of Graduate Teachers and the Concerned Teachers Association, were fighting a good fight which deserved the approval of all salaried workers in the employment of the state, and particularly the TUC.
The issues they raised, claims of the government’s policy to limit arrears of salary payments to three months irrespective of length of the arrears, non-payment of transfer allowance and, especially, the issues about the management of the new pension schemes, are not issues that involve only teachers and, thus, should not be their fight alone.
It is good news that the Ministry of Finance has debunked the rumour that the government was not going to pay arrears beyond three months irrespective of the length of service unpaid for beyond the time frame.
Here, it must be noted that the issue is for all those employed by the state. For even with the explanation from the Ministry of Finance, something does not seem right and proper.
It does not make sense to hold a classroom teacher liable for the failures of the respective district directorates to provide inputs on timely basis for the preparation of salaries.
Therefore, if the policy is that no salary will be paid beyond three months for non-validation of inputs, the wrong person may suffer the penalty of non-performance. We must learn to deal with people firmly for their lapses rather than attempt to pass the buck.
Again, the question of non-payment of transfer allowances is not a matter affecting only teachers. It is a matter that must be taken up by all workers’ groups in the public sector, and supported ably by organised labour through the TUC.
This is critical because if any employee were to refuse to accept transfer, that will be condemned. If then workers accept transfer and are denied what has been agreed as part of the package, that is not only unfair but equally unjust and a betrayal of trust.
Contracts must be honoured, not unilaterally undermined or abrogated.
The biggest issue in the pool of the teachers’ agitation is the management of the transitional process in the new pension schemes.
This must be a concern for all salaried workers who contribute towards the national pension scheme. Between the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), there is an obligation to every contributor who was less than 55 years when the new schemes involving SSNIT and private operators became law in 2010 as to what will happen to their contributions.
Contributors deserve information on their contributions as that is their future, especially as the reforms were intended to improve their earnings.
Unfortunately, neither the SSNIT nor NPRA has provided any education or information to workers to set them at ease and build their confidence in the new system.
Unfortunately, the TUC, which is supposed to represent the interest of workers, has not been able to compel the public bodies to fully discharge their obligations to workers.
It is like the proverbial siblings of Memuna. who cannot get ‘koose’ to eat although their sister is the only expert in the preparation of that meal.
All Ghanaians, workers, the government, employers and organised labour, must be concerned about how the pensions are managed.
We should not leave it to teachers. How are those who were less than 55 in 2010 to get the lump sum portion of their contribution.
Will SSNIT remit that portion of their contributions as at that time to the private scheme managers or that SSNIT will keep that portion such that when those involved are due for retirement they will be paid the lump sums from two sources.
This is a legitimate concern that must be addressed by SSNIT and NPRA as a primary responsibility. To wait for a workers group to threaten industrial action over such a matter is not only irresponsible but amounts to taking contributors for granted.
It is not responsive to the modern dictates of a consumer friendly and focused organisation.
