JOINT PRESS STATEMENT BY THE GHANA NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS (GNAT) AND THE TEACHERS AND EDUCATIONAL WORKERS UNION (TEWU) OF GHANA TUC ON THE STATE OF NEGOTIATIONS OVER PAYMENT OF ACCUMMULATED SALARY ARREARS FOR EMPLOYEES IN THE GHANA EDUCATION SERVICE. It has become absolutely necessary for GNAT and TEWU to inform their members that the negotiations for the payment of accumulated salary arrears accruing to GES employees as a result of the implementation of the Single Spine Salary structure are being carried out under the auspices of the PUBLIC SERVICE JOINT NEGOTIATION COMMITTEE (PSJNC) of which all unions in the public service including those of the Ghana Education Service, are members. The negotiation is not between NAGRAT and Government as being peddled around. At any negotiation, parties are allowed to advance their proposals as the basis for the exchanges that culminates in agreements. At the first round of negotiations on Monday, October, 17th 2011, Government proposed that it needed 4 years to pay the arrears for institutions which have already been migrated and those who are yet to be migrated. This proposal was rejected by Organized Labour forcing Government to come up with a three (3) year implementation period. Again Organized Labour did not agree to the three years .It is therefore strange and interesting for individuals and groups in the Ghana Education Service to give false information that government wants to use 4years to pay their arrears when this proposal is not even on the table. The rejection of the two proposals from Government required that the negotiation team for the government side had to request for adjournment to enable it to carry out further consultations with their principals and come back to the table at 9.00am on Friday, 21st October, 2011.Negotiations on the payment of the accumulated arrears is therefore not completed. We are through this joint statement admonishing our members not to be deceived by pretences of individuals and groups that may force them to participate in any action which may portray educational workers as leaderless people when it comes to Industrial/Labour relations. We wish to assure our members that we shall remain part of the PSJNC and actively negotiate the tranches for payment after which the final decision will be communicated to them. Signed by Irene Duncan Adanusa (Mrs) General Secretary GNAT and Mr. M. S. Bogobiri General Secretary, TEWU