The leadership of Ghana’s pre-tertiary Teacher Unions has collectively agreed to suspend their planned demonstration, initially set for Tuesday, October 1, in the Greater Accra Region.
This decision was made after hours of discussions on Monday, September 30, between the unions’ leadership, the Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, and officials from the Ghana Education Service (GES) in Accra.
The meeting addressed key concerns that had prompted the unions to consider the protest.
Dr. Adutwum assured the unions that preparations were underway to address the issue of allowances for teachers in deprived areas, presenting documents from the Ministry of Education that showed data validation by the GES and approval by the Ministry of Finance were in progress.
On the matter of the Professional Development Allowance (PDA), the Minister confirmed that the government had fulfilled its promise to increase the allowance by 100%, with payments already made in September.
Representatives from the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-GH), and the GES management were all present at the meeting.
Following the talks, union leaders urged their members to suspend the planned demonstration, assuring them that their grievances were being satisfactorily addressed.
In an earlier press release on August 27, the unions outlined several unresolved issues from the Collective Agreement signed on May 24, 2024.
These included initiating negotiations on the Deprived Area Allowance and resolving promotion delays for Deputy Directors (DD) to Director II (DII) and Director I (DI) by September 2024.
The unions also highlighted ongoing challenges, including 12 months of arrears for Tier-2 pension deductions, delays in upgrading, difficulties with reinstatement, and issues with rank reductions within the Public Services Commission (PSC).
