A nationwide strike is declared by three teacher unions.

A statewide strike for teachers and non-teaching personnel has been announced by Ghana’s three major teacher unions, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).

The unions believe that the government has neglected to address their urgent concerns about their terms of service, which has led to this important decision.

The unions have listed several major issues, including the ongoing denial of teachers’ pay, arbitrary schedule modifications made without first consulting the unions, and delays in the delivery of necessary supplies, like computers, to teachers.

Isaac Owusu, the National President of GNAT, stressed the gravity of the situation and urged all teachers to follow the instructions. Owusu expressed grave worry over the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s blockage of teachers’ wages by circumventing established procedures, the regular changes to school calendars made without consulting unions, and the non-admission of computers to instructors.

With increasing pressure from union members and in light of the government’s and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s repeated delays and broken promises, the teacher unions have united to launch a nationwide strike action that will take effect immediately.

The goal of this strike is to make the government listen to the requests of the teachers and force them to take timely, thorough action on their complaints.

Given this situation, all parties involved must have constructive conversations to address the underlying problems and guarantee the continuous provision of education throughout the country.

Isaac Owusu, the National President of GNAT, stated that all educators should follow the instructions.

“It is concerning that all teachers are receiving laptops. The seamless running of the service is being impacted by the frequent modifications made to the school calendar without consulting the teaching unions. Another big concern is the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s suspension of teacher wages without following established protocols.

“We, the pre-tertiary teacher unions, do stand with our members and hereby declare a nationwide industrial action effective today, Wednesday, March 20, 2024, to press home our demand,” he said, citing the aforementioned circumstances, the employer’s and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission’s delays and unfulfilled promises, as well as threats from the rank and file of our members.