By Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Bolgatanga, Oct. 1, GNA – The Upper East Regional branches of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Teachers’ Association of Ghana (PRETAG) have thrown their support behind the ongoing industrial action by teacher unions until their demands are met.
The unions said they remained committed to the industrial action declared by their national leadership on September 25, 2026, citing what they described as the failure of the government and relevant agencies to address outstanding concerns affecting teachers.
The three unions took the stand during a press conference, led by their regional leadership, including Mr Lare Kitonname, Regional Secretary of GNAT, Mr Richard Sunday Yinbil, Regional Chairman of PRETAG; and Mr John Akunzebe, Regional Chairman of NAGRAT in Bolgatanga,
The regional leadership of the three unions said the issues included the failure to automatically place newly promoted teachers on their appropriate salary scales, non-implementation of the deprived-area allowance and delays in negotiating a new Collective Agreement.
The unions said the failure to implement an agreement reached between the Ministry of Education, Ghana Education Service, Controller and Accountant-General’s Department and the teacher unions had created tension and anger among their members.
They explained that two cohorts of teachers who successfully passed aptitude tests in December 2025 and February 2026 were expected to be automatically placed on their respective salary scales, with arrears effective January 2026.
The regional branches said the agreement had not been implemented, despite the affected teachers having successfully gone through the required process.
On the deprived-area allowance, the unions said Section 17 (2) of the 2024 Collective Agreement required the Ministry of Education and the GES to review the Deprived Area Report for implementation, after which the teacher unions would negotiate the figures with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
They said that the process had not been completed, describing the situation as a disregard for the provision in the Collective Agreement.
The unions also cited the failure to implement a 20 per cent allowance for teachers working in deprived or hard-to-reach areas as another major concern.
They said the issue remained unresolved despite a 2024 ruling by the National Labour Commission (NLC) and a directive by President John Dramani Mahama concerning the payment of the allowance.
The three regional branches further expressed concern over delays in negotiating a new Collective Agreement, saying the existing agreement had expired.
According to them, negotiations for the new agreement were expected to have been completed by June 2026 but remained outstanding.
They said they had raised the matter with the FWSC on several occasions without a resolution.
The unions maintained that the outstanding issues continued to affect the welfare and conditions of service of teachers and therefore called for the industrial action to continue until their demands were addressed.
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Anthony Adongo Apubeo
Reporter’s email: [email protected]