College of Education staff to strike over unpaid conditions of service

The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Association of Ghana (CENTSAG) have threatened a nationwide strike over their conditions of service. The two associations say the government has neglected the welfare of their members in the 46 colleges of Education in recent years. In a joint statement, the two associations indicated that they are disappointment with “the way government has handled issues affecting the welfare of our members in the colleges of education over the years.” Highlighting their concerns, they said the non-finalisation of CETAG’s Conditions of Service (CoS) negotiations which started on 14th August 2021 has direct implications for CENTSAG’s own CoS. “Unilateral determination of April 2023 by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) as the effective date for placing First Degree Holders of CENTSAG on 17H on the SSSS. “Undue delay by the Ministry of Education in responding to our request for payment of compensation for all-year-round work to both teaching and non-teaching staff. - Advertisement - “Deliberate variation of Fuel, Vehicle Maintenance, and Off-Campus allowances of CETAG and CENTSAG members as compared to our counterparts in other analogous institutions in the face of the rising cost of fuel prices in the country. Unfair retrospective deductions of office holding allowances paid to some members of CENTSAG and CETAG,” the statement noted. They further described as undue delay by the Ministry of Education in responding to their request for the payment of compensation for all-year-round work to both teaching and non-teaching staff. The unions have therefore threatened that should the Ghana Education Service (GES) fail to address their aforementioned concerns within five crucial working days they shall reactivate their indefinite strike actions. “Finally, we want to state unequivocally that by Friday, 11 November 2022, if our demands have not been met, we shall reactivate our indefinite strike actions which we suspended on January 24 and April 14, 2022, respectively.”