The second attempt at a meeting between the government and the striking teacher unions has failed. The administration requested that the teacher unions end their strike before negotiations began during the meeting, but the teachers refused and afterwards staged a walkout. The union representatives had discussed their choice to walk out with journalists.
One of the union leaders explained the reason for their walk out, stating that the government was not ready to welcome them to the meeting, and that they could not begrudge them.
Is the government truly not open to negotiations with the teacher unions? This is not the first time they have presented their petition on the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to the government and the government appears unwilling to meet the demands or reach a common understanding with the suffering teachers.
Another member argued that the government’s refusal to begin negotiations with them until the strike has been called off indicates their unpreparedness to engage in with the striking teachers. He further bemoaned that the government was taking the teacher unions hostage because they are unwanted by the government.
Are teachers really unwanted in this country? Teachers are the “nation builders” of every country; indeed, they are a great asset to every educational system. There will be no good engineers, medical doctors, lawyers, bankers, accountants, scientists, politicians and many more if there are no good teachers.
The quality of education and training of a country’s workforce largely influences the economic growth of that nation. A breakdown in the educational system of a country will invariably negatively affects all sectors of the economy.
Teachers are so important yet they feel unwanted by the government because of the harsh work conditions they have been subjected to. How sad!
According to Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, Mr. Bright Wireko-Brobby, the meeting yielded no results because the teacher unions refused to call off their strike. He further explained that the law prohibits engagements when one party is on strike or in a lockout hence, they were expecting the teacher unions to call off the strike.
The organized labour therefore proposed that meeting be adjourned and more negotiations should be employed. Is the government hiding behind the law to frustrate the teachers?
The teachers are fighting for the payment of a Cost Of Living Allowance equal to 20% to 30% of their wages which will pad them against the current economic challenges and the worsening situation of teachers. Teachers have been pushing for an increment in their salaries since time immemorial. When the government is unable to increase teacher’s salaries immediately, a short-term benefit of allowance, popularly known as the COLA is given.
What is Different Now?
In the wake of the current economic hardship in the country, it is nearly impossible for government to increase salaries by 20% per the demand of the teachers. A 20% of COLA for teachers is more feasible since it is only temporal and can be removed when salaries are eventually increased.
Also, should the IMF impose any constraint on the public sector salary increment as a condition, COLA will not be affected.
Ghana has long dealt with the issue of COLA for Teachers. Previous governments have paid COLA to teachers for up to three years without raising salaries. The situation is different now because salaries of teachers remain the same and COLA is also not being paid.
Could this be because there are no resources to pay COLA for the teachers or that the government places no significance on teachers?