GNAT asks members to resume work

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has directed all its members to resume work until further instructions from the national secretariat.

A letter to all national executive members and regional secretaries of to the Ghana Education Service (GES) and GNAT to go back to the negotiation table and complete all matters related to the Collective Agreement by December 28.

"We are by this letter informing you about the decision and directing that our members are informed about the decision. Meanwhile, members are being advised to resume normal work till further directives are received from the National Secretariat," the letter dated December 14 said.

The NLC after a meeting on Monday with the GES and GNAT asked the Standing Joint Negotiating Committee of the GES and GNAT to negotiate all outstanding issues concerning the Collective Agreement of teachers within two weeks.

Teachers (NAGRAT) over negotiations for their Collective Bargaining Agreement, which started in 2006.

It said: "Considering recent happenings in the GES and Management's responses to issues on employee conditions of employment, GNAT wishes to state that it no longer has confidence in the capacity, intentions and sincerity of Management to conclude negotiations on the Collective Agreement."

The reasons cited for the strike action included non-upward review of supervision allowances for teachers, lack of support for teachers on distance education programmes and allowances for teachers in deprived areas.

The rest were the non-payment of professional allowances for certified teachers, special allowances for teachers of science, mathematics, ICT, technical and vocational subjects and lack of confidence in the promotional interview panel of the GES for GNAT members.

The strike call, which lasted for only one day, received mixed response, as some teachers continued with their end-of-term examinations while others threw their weight behind the strike.

Meanwhile, Teachers in basic schools in Cape Coast have also defied the sit-down strike action called by the national executive of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) from Monday to press home demands including the upward review of supervision allowances and support for teachers on distance education programmes.

During a visit to five schools by the GNA in Cape Coast, it found no signs of a strike action and the Assistant Director of Philip Quaicoo Boys' Basic School, Mr. Richard Mensah Attah, said they only heard of the strike action on air and the newspapers but had not received any letter to that effect.

He said as a result, teachers were going about their normal duties. The situation was similar at the Antem M/A, Aboom Zion, and St. Monica Girls' Basic Schools, where the GNA was also told that no letter had been received concerning the sit-down strike action, teachers were therefore going about their normal duties of supervising as well as marking scripts and registers.

The Assistant Headteacher of the Jacob Wilson Sey Basic School, Ms Grace Pinkrah, said her school had received a letter signed by the General Secretary of GNAT to embark on the strike action.

According to her, they could do nothing about it since the students had already written their exams and that the teachers were therefore going about their normal duties until the school vacates on December 17.