By Elorm Yao Aryee
Some members of teacher unions in pre-tertiary education in the Volta Region have staged a demonstration in Ho to demand the payment of some allowances to improve their working conditions.
The demonstration follows the government’s failure to address the concerns of the unions after several negotiations.
The unions have given their employers until May 13 this year to settle their demands, or they will embark on industrial action.
The nearly one thousand demonstrators consist of members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers-Ghana (CCT-GH).
They marched through the principal streets of Ho, holding placards that sought to demand better working conditions from their employer.
Some of the messages read, “improve our working conditions”, “teachers also deserve allowances”, “is our pension funds safe”, “treat teachers with decency”, “our take home can’t take us home”, among others.
The teachers bemoaned the government’s failure to implement their allowances agreed on, in a 2009 and 2020 collective agreement. They say the government has been adamant about fulfilling its promises after 15 years of the unions’ agitations. Though the collective agreement captures about 17 allowances, the unions have settled on four critical ones after several considerations.
The four are Deprived Area, Extra Assessment, Book/Data/Online and Teaching Support, and Upward Adjustment on CPD Allowances. The demonstrators ended their protest at the Volta Regional Coordinating Council, where they presented a petition to the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, for onward delivery to the Presidency.
The Regional Secretary of GNAT, Kassim Seidu Baba, who read the petition, stated that the government’s failure to honour the collected agreement has culminated in despondency and disaffection for the unions.
He said the plights of many teachers have worsened because of the current economic crisis, which has taken a toll on their wages. Mr Seidu Baba therefore entreated the government to address their concerns as soon as possible.
One of the protesters, Mathias Tulasi, lamented that his meagre income can no longer cover his living expenses.
The Regional Coordinating Director, Augustus Awity, who received the petition on behalf of the Minister, pledged to deliver it to the appropriate quarters.
