The National Labour Commission (NLC) has directed the government to immediately implement the agreed-upon terms of the conditions of service with the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), as the prolonged strike continues to disrupt the education sector..
CETAG initiated the strike on August 1, citing the government’s failure to honor the NLC’s Arbitral Award Orders and the negotiated conditions of service since May 2, 2023.
Speaking to the media, the Executive Secretary of the commission Ofosu Asamoah emphasized that CETAG should only conclude their strike once they have received official confirmation from the government that their demands have been implemented.
“The commission listened to both parties, the commission realised that the complainant, in this case, the government, has not fully complied with the directives of the commission. So they have been directed to implement fully what the commission’s directives were, as in the payments of the monies that are due them.”
Meanwhile, the National Vice President of CETAG, John Newton Kumi, has stated that they will only call off their strike when concrete evidence of their concerns have been presented to them.
CETAG members from all 46 training colleges have been on strike since August 1, citing the government’s failure to adhere to the NLC’s Arbitral Award Orders and the negotiated conditions of service since May 2, 2023.
Despite repeated notices sent to the Ministry of Finance, the agreed-upon negotiations have yet to be implemented, leading to the continued impasse.
In an interview with Citi News on Monday, the Executive Secretary of the NLC, Ofosu Asamoah, said that the commission would take the matter to court if the strike continued.
He said this was to compel CETAG members to return to the classroom, and that the government could also withhold the salaries of members of the association if they went on with the strike.
However, CETAG has also said that its members will continue to be on strike even if their strike results in salary cuts.