The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has warned that it will embark on a full-scale nationwide strike if the government fails to honour outstanding payments and fully implement an arbitral award granted by the National Labour Commission (NLC) in May 2023.

Speaking on Joynews, President of CETAG, Maxwell Bunu, said members will not return to lecture rooms if the outstanding components of the award, including arrears of the 2023/2024 Book and Research Allowance, are not paid before the reopening of colleges on 11 November 2025.

According to him, the association has engaged the government on multiple occasions but commitments made have not been fulfilled.

“If this remaining component of our award has not been complied with, money that they owe them has not been paid, they will not set their feet in the lecture hall when the colleges reopen on the 11th of November 2025,” he stated.

Mr Bunu further disclosed that CETAG has notified the National Labour Commission of its intention to strike if the government does not act by 7 November.

“We have already indirectly served strike notice to the National Labour Commission that on the 7th, if by that date nothing has happened, then of course they should consider that we are going to embark on a full ground strike,” he said.

CETAG argues that the government has continuously failed to honour parts of the binding award relating to conditions of service. The association says that despite assurances given during a meeting with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) on 30 April 2025, the Book and Research Allowance arrears remain unpaid.

The group is also demanding that the government immediately resolve outstanding concerns at Akrokerri College of Education, where the top-up of the 2022 Book and Research Allowance is yet to be disbursed despite repeated promises.

Mr Bunu expressed frustration that issues which predate the current administration remain unresolved.

He said CETAG has made efforts to engage the government to prevent industrial action, but their concerns have not received attention.

“We have given the government until the end of this month because they already know the issues. When we want to engage so that we don’t get to this stage, nobody is listening. And I think this is the only language governments understand, and we have to speak this language to them,” he said.

The warning raises the likelihood of another disruption to academic work in Colleges of Education across the country if the government fails to meet the association’s demands.