By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Koforidua, May 13, GNA-Teacher unions at the pre-tertiary level of education in the Eastern Region have announced plans to demonstrate against the government’s failure to address the concerns of their members and improve their conditions of service.
The unions are seeking to draw attention to concerns about salary levels, working conditions, and overall support for teachers to push for meaningful change and ensure that Ghanaian teachers are respected and adequately compensated.
The unions include the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana.
They intend to deliver a petition to the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Seth Kwame Acheampong, on May 15, 2024, during the demonstration.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr. Peter Danquah Kpakpo-Atsem, the Eastern Regional GNAT Secretary said about 200 teachers were expected to participate in the protest.
“The demonstration is scheduled on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, from 08:30 hours to 11:00 hours.
The converging point for the participants is at the SIC building through B Foster traffic light, central market, the municipal assembly and to the minister’s office,” he outlined.
He said the police have been duly informed per the Public Order Act 1994 (act 491), which provides for the maintenance of public order, and related purposes.
On May 6, 2024, the Eastern Regional Teacher Unions at the pre-tertiary level held a news conference in Koforidua to outline the grievances of teachers and called on their employer, the government, to respond to concerns about their allowances.
The unions added that although they were faced with a lot of challenges and had previously negotiated 17 concerns, they had now reduced their concerns to four in the hope that the employer would address them promptly.
However, in recent years, the Government has failed to either address or respond to their requests as they rightly deserve.
Therefore, they gave the Government until May 13, 2024, to address their concerns.
Should the government fail to do so, according to the unions they would take their next action.
The news conference followed a first strike action of teachers on March 20, 2024, which was called off with the hope that their employer would address their concerns.
However, the Government failed to show interest in the issues raised by not addressing or responding to them.
Therefore, the scheduled demonstration is aimed at further drawing attention to these issues.
GNA