The Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) has announced withdrawal of their services from tomorrow, January 5, 2022.
Speaking at a presser today, Tuesday, January 4, 2022, the General Secretary of TEWU, Mark Denkyira Korankye, stated that the over 35, 000 members are withdrawing their services to demand the payment of 600 cedis each for professional development allowance.
Commenting on the allowance payment, he averred that the Union went to the Ministry of Education and have written and given all the justifications that is required concerning the payment but that hasn’t yielded any results.
Mark Korankye revealed that a committee was to be formed to tackle the matter but that also has not been effective.
“The Minister said we should liaise with the Ghana Education Service management and we have engaged them. In fact, in the wisdom of the management of GES, they said let us put together a technical committee to look at the issues and give appropriate recommendations”.
Mark Denkyira Korankye
Negotiations should’ve been completed in 2021
According to Mark Korankye, negotiations was supposed to have been completed in September last year but as at January 2022, the committee has not even met let alone to make recommendations for consideration.
“So, we feel that this feet dragging is on purpose maybe to deny our members of this right and that this is why we think that we must push and move to the next step where that one will compel management to sit and conclude any discussion with us on this matter.”
Mark Denkyira Korankye
Mark Korankye indicated that although the schools are re-opening tomorrow there will not be caterers to cook for the students due to the strike.
Otumfuo on teachers strike
This strike comes about despite the plea by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II yesterday, January 3, 2021 for unions to use dialogue to resolve its concerns and not strike. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II admonished the teachers to adopt an improved way of negotiation rather than resorting to strike whenever their concerns are not addressed.
Addressing members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at their 6th Quadrennial National Delegates conference, the Ashanti ruler asserted that school children are the ones who face the consequences of such actions and not politicians.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu mentioned that while he will always urge moderation in the face of the national economic realities, he will nonetheless, urge policy makers to ensure that the status of teachers truly reflect the level of importance it attaches to their place in society.
Commenting on Otumfuo’s appeal, the TEWU General Secretary posited that despite their agreement with his point, he thinks that if the Union does not take the necessary steps the rights of its members will be trampled upon and “it is not right to do so, that is why we have come to this end”.
“Otumfuo righty appealed that dialogue and consensus building is what we need. We have given all these opportunities. We wrote to GES, they responded and invited us to a meeting, they said lets form a technical committee and it has taken already four months without the first meeting”.
Mark Denkyira Korankye
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