The Ghana Education Service (GES) is appealing to the headteachers of the various junior and senior high schools in the Ghana to ensure the safety and well-being of students despite the ongoing industrial action by teachers.

Currently, some three teacher unions made up of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-Gh) have been on strike since Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

But in a statement addressed to Regional and District Directors, GES explained that schools must be kept open despite the stance by the teachers.

"Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has read from the media that the three (3) Teacher Unions in the Pre-Tertiary Education sector have declared withdrawal of their services effective Wednesday 20th March 2024.

"Heads of public Kindergarten and Primary Schools as well as Junior and Senior High Schools have been directed through the Regional and District Directors to mobilise their Management teams to ensure the safety and well-being of all students in schools," part of the statement read.

GES also revealed that management is closely monitoring the situation and will advise on the way forward accordingly.

The directive by the Service follows an  indefinite strike by three teacher unions over a Collective Agreement that hangs in limbo.

According to the unions, the negotiation of a new collective agreement should have been completed on or before February 29, 2024, but that was not done.

“Thus, the new Collective Agreement stands un-negotiated and we raised this concern in our letter to the Director General GES, dated February 29th, 2024 and also informed the National Labour Commission. As we gather here now, the issue is still outstanding,” part of an earlier statement sighted by JoyNews read.

But the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) says it is surprised by the decision taken by the teachers since negotiations are ongoing.

Addressing a press briefing, the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Ing Benjamin Arthur said "we have been engaging them over a period concerning some requests that they placed before the employer for negotiations.

“We’re committed, willing and open to engage, and we’ve demonstrated that by inviting them.

“If what they [the Teacher Unions] have cited as delays is anything to go by, then the strike is really what’s going to cause the delay, because we’ve made tremendous progress.

“We were expectant that Thursday by 1400 hours [2:00pm] at least, we should be able to conclude the negotiation”.

He further explained that the Commission had recently received funds from the Ministry of Finance to facilitate wage negotiations.

Find the statement from GES below: