Leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers’ Association of Ghana (CETAG) say they may be compelled to embark on actions that will cause industrial disturbances across the 46 public colleges of education if government fails to implement the compulsory arbitration awards directed by the National Labour Commission (NLC).
It has given government a May 31, 2024 deadline to settle the outstanding agreed-upon conditions of service.
According to the teacher educators, their employer has taken them for granted for not complying with the NLC’s orders.
In 2021, CETAG and the government through the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) engaged in protracted negotiations over a new condition of service for members of CETAG.
This compelled the National Labour Commission (NLC) to intervene with a Compulsory Arbitration following CETAG’s strike in January 2023.
At the end of the Compulsory Arbitration, the NLC issued an Arbitration Award Order on May 2, 2023, granting CETAG members new conditions of service with effect from January 1, 2023.
These conditions include proposed salary grades, staff audits by July 2023, all-year-round work compensation and top-up research allowances for the 2022/2023 academic year.
However, none of these conditions have been met.
Delivering a press conference on Monday, April 22, 2024, the President of CETAG expressed worry over the delay in implementing the negotiated terms.
“We as teacher educators continue to work selflessly for the country. Currently, our members who hold qualifications comparable to colleagues in public universities have not been given the same rates of remuneration and allowances as ordered by NLC on 2nd May, 2023. The college teacher is not properly recognised by the employer and the state…”
“The plight of CETAG members continues to deepen day by day as the stakeholders who are supposed to act on our legitimate issues have neglected their duties up to date for reasons known to them,” CETAG President, Prince Obeng-Himah, said.
CETAG rebuffs calls by NLC to end strike
May 31 deadline and demands
The Colleges of Education Teachers’ Association has given government up to May 31, 2024 to settle the outstanding arbitration awards.
“It is now very clear to CETAG members that our employer is deliberately denying us our legitimate compulsory arbitration awards without any reasonable justification…”
“We would like to send a strong signal and message to our employer that we shall take our destinies into our own hands if by 31st May, 2024 all the outstanding compulsory arbitration awards are not fully implemented.”
Mr. Obeng-Himah further demanded: “An order that payment of one-month salary based on CETAG’s proposed salary grade shall be paid to each of its entitled members as compensation for additional duty performed in the year 2022; an order that the agreed rates payable to public universities shall be applied to deserving members of CETAG [and] an order that the implementation of the completed staff audit exercise shall commence 1st January, 2023.”
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The Association also called on the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance to “immediately comply with the NLC’s Compulsory Arbitration Award orders in the supreme interest of industrial peace.”
Meanwhile, it has urged President Akufo-Addo, the Speaker of Parliament and other respected authorities to intervene in the matter “to prevent any industrial disturbances in the 46 public colleges of education this academic year.”