The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) says it will not call off the ongoing teachers’ strike until government provides concrete and binding timelines for resolving the outstanding concerns raised by the unions.

NAGRAT President, Jacob Anaba, said the union wants the government’s commitments on the Collective Agreement, promotion-related payments and the Deprived Area Allowance documented and signed before teachers return to the classroom.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Top Story, Mr Anaba said the latest meeting produced timelines for addressing the various concerns, but the unions are yet to engage further on the proposals.

“So we will not call off the strike until we see concrete steps to ensure that these issues are resolved,” he said.

According to him, October 6 has been proposed as the date for negotiations on the Collective Agreement, while government has indicated that payment of the Deprived Area Allowance will begin in January 2027.

He added that the immediate processing of promotion-related payments was also identified as one of the issues to be addressed.

Mr Anaba, however, said the October 6 timeline alone was not sufficient because negotiations on the Collective Agreement could take some time.

“With the collective agreement, it’s not going to be a one-day affair. It will take some time. So we want to know when will be the start date and then the end date. We need to put it on paper,” he said.

On promotion-related payments, he said NAGRAT wants to see the financial commitment translated into actual payments to affected teachers.

“With the promotion, we want to see the money hitting the accounts of our members who are qualified, and they have to be paid,” he stated.

Mr Anaba also welcomed government’s indication that payment of the Deprived Area Allowance would begin in January 2027, but said the commitment must be formally documented.

“With the deprived area allowance, as you have indicated, government is showing commitment that it will start payment in January 2027. We want to have a document that we will all commit to, we will sign, and then it will be binding on the two of us,” he said.

He explained that the issues raised by NAGRAT were not formally tabled during the meeting with the Education Ministry because government had only presented the proposed timelines.

“No, today was the day they made this proposal. We are yet to engage further on the issues that they have raised. So we never tabled anything,” he said.

The pre-tertiary teacher unions are currently on an indefinite strike over outstanding concerns including promotion-related payments, the Collective Agreement and the Deprived Area Allowance.