The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) says it will not end its strike until the government shows concrete evidence of implementing payments to its members.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the association recounted that over the years, each time the government promised to fulfil its end of the bargain, it consistently failed.

As such, learning from previous experiences, CETAG has decided to see proof of the government’s commitment before returning to work.

“The only thing the government is doing is to frustrate CETAG to call off its legitimate strike so that the employer can get its peace of mind to sleep over the compulsory arbitration award which has been pending since 2nd May 2023.

“Until the government provides concrete evidence of implementation by way of payments to our members, the union cannot trust the very government which has misled us in calling off three different strike actions regarding the same monies in the recent past. CETAG cannot embark on another strike over this same matter again so the government must do the needful to restore the normalcy in the academic space of the 46 public Colleges of Education. Enough is enough!” the association said.

This was contained in a release signed by the National President, Prince Obeng-Himah, and the Acting Secretary, Thomas Ampomah, on August 13.

The union also refuted claims by the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC) that the group’s continued industrial action was in contempt of court. The group clarified that this statement was false.

They insist that since the association declared a strike on June 14, no court has ordered the union to call off its action, contrary to what the NLC is claiming.

Background

On June 14, teachers in various colleges of  education laid down their tools, demanding better working conditions and remuneration packages.

Read also: CETAG declares indefinite strike; 46 public colleges to suffer

This action was a response to the government’s delay in implementing the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) Arbitral Award Orders and negotiated service conditions.

• Read also: GTEC directs CAGD to withhold CETAG members’ July salaries

CETAG's demands include the payment of one month’s salary to each member for additional duties performed in 2022, and the application of agreed rates of allowances payable to public universities to deserving CETAG members.