Teacher unions walk out of negotiations with govt over COLA strike
A group of different teacher unions have suspended their negotiations with government indefinitely due to what they describe as lack of trust from the government.
According to the four different unions, the government has shown bad faith in the negotiations to find a solution to their strike on Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).
“All it means is that the government side is not ready to continue with negotiation unless the teacher unions call off the strike.
“We have held all Organized Labour hostage and this is a betrayal of trust. Because the understanding we had is that Organized Labour is convinced for us to find a solution on the issue of COLA.
“Right now, we are all desirable. We think that before they even walk us out of the meeting we are walking out ourselves,” the General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Angel Carbonou told the media.
Teacher Unions in the country, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) declared an indefinite strike Monday July 4, 2022.
The teacher unions recently ignored the plea by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to go back into the classroom.
Rebecca Ocran Abaidoo, the gender coordinator of NAGRAT speaking JoyNews said the association appreciates the government’s invitation to the negotiation table but will not call off the strike.
She said “We are hopeful that we would have something tangible to send to our rank and file so that we would call off the strike. (But) We are still on strike and we have not called off the strike.
“We have heard His Excellency but we need to consult our rank and file.”
Source: Pulseghana
