A crucial meeting between the government and the heads of the four teacher unions that are on strike to break the impasse came to naught.
Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Benjamin Arthur, CEO of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, and Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, all attended the meeting.
“The government came empty-handed and so we ended the meeting,” said Isaac Baah, a member of the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), who was present at the meeting.
In an interview on Joy News, he said the representatives at the meeting told them “they did not have the mandate” to grant the 20% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) the teacher unions have demanded”, instead, they urged them (teacher unions) to call of the strike so that further negotiations could hold.
Strike Continues Unabated
However, he emphasized once more that teachers won’t start working again unless the government complies with their demand for a 20% COLA.
“We have already submitted a request way back in February, so at least you know what we are demanding so you should be prepared before inviting us,” Mr. Baah said.
What the Government Says
Kwesi Kwarteng, the Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Education, stated that the government will keep talking to the teachers about their requests.
“We will continue to engage them officially and unofficially, both formally and informally. I can obviously speak to today’s [Wednesday] meeting, the outcome of the meeting and I am sure that based on today’s meeting, the government’s side obviously will meet again just like the teacher unions they have appealed to,” he told Emefa Apawu on Newsnight, Wednesday.
Source: myjoyonline.com
Akua Karle Okyere
Akua Karle Okyere is a lifestyle blogger at The Vocal Ghanaian and also a PR technician. She enjoys researching on travels and tours and writing fictional stories in her leisure time.