By Kodjo Adams
Accra, Aug. 6, GNA – The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) says it will call off its almost two months strike if the government implements all the outstanding compulsory arbitration awards.
The Association, therefore, urged the National Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF) to channel all its energy towards getting the employer to do the needful by adhering to their demands without further delays.
This is in response to a letter from the leadership of PRINCOF on Monday, August 5, 2024, appealing to CETAG to reconsider the strike and resume academic work on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
The letter was jointly signed by Mr Prince Obeng-Himah, National President of CETAG, and Mr Thomas Amponsah, Acting National Secretary of CETAG.
“The appeal by PRINCOF for our members to resume work is in bad faith considering the caveat put in your letter that PRINCOF stands ready to facilitate the payment of July 2024 frozen salary on behalf of CETAG members who return to the lecture halls to allow for further engagement and speedy resolution of the issues,” it said.
The statement said PRINCOF could not pretend to be doing CETAG members a favour when it took part in the freezing of its July salaries, supporting the claim by the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission that the strike was illegal.
“Since 2018, PRINCOF has facilitated the freezing of our members’ salaries for embarking on a legitimate strike to demand better conditions from our employer. The specific instance of salary freezes of CETAG members occurred in November 2018, August 2023, and July 2024,” it said.
The statement said since the publication of the staff audit report in September 2023, neither PRINCOF nor GTEC took concrete steps to ensure it was implemented for members of CETAG, resulting in the current strike.
The Association observed with great concern that PRINCOF’s actions had emboldened the employer not to implement the National Labour Commission’s compulsory arbitration award for CETAG.
The statement called on its members to remain resolute and stand against any form of intimidation in the struggle for economic justice and fairness.
Last week, the government and stakeholders in the sector had a fruitful meeting awaiting the response from CETAG to call off its strike, but the current situation is proving a protracted tussle if the demands of CETAG is not met.
CETAG declared an indefinite strike on Friday, June 14, 2024, to push the government to meet its demands.
The concerns, among others, include the payment of one month’s salary to each member for additional duties performed in 2022 and the application of agreed rates of allowances payable to public universities to deserving CETAG members.
GNA