The Coalition of Aggrieved Teachers, has asked the Ghana Education Service to give its members’ salaries and promotion arrears it owes them.
At a gathering in front of the office of the Ghana Education Service to petition the Director of Operations about their grievances, convener of the group, Mr. Richard Oppong speaking with the media said that, they wanted their arrears to be paid or “else we are not leaving Accra”.
He further threatened that, if they do not receive the arrears they are owed, they will not vote in the upcoming elections.
“My Salary went off from the pay voucher October 2014 and I was re activated in November 2016. Twenty-four months they gave me three months. My full salary, at that time I was receiving ghc1700, multiply Ghc1700 by twenty-one, it will give you 408 old million cedis.
“And since 2014 till date 6 years now, look at the devaluation of the money, look at how the money has devaluated and yet you are not going to add a single interest to the money.”
He further said that, if he had his own chance, he would want to see the teacher unions dissolved.
“Each teacher should be free and devoid of joining any teacher union because they are not working for us.”
The Coalition of Aggrieved Teachers have over the weeks petitioned to government, to pay them the pending arrears owed.
Their petition comes on the back of the Vice president Dr Mahamudu Bawumia’s claim during the launch of the NPP manifesto that all arrears owed teachers have been paid.
The group, however, said that the claim by the vice president was false because, the NPP in 2016 promised to pay all arrears owed teachers when voted into power and have in turn declined to honor its promise.
The group at a press conference on the 10thof September said that, they voted against the NDC in 2016 due to delay in payment of arrears and would do same against the NPP come December 7, 2020 if the government refused to pay them.
They also requested for the government to publish the names of teachers they claimed to have paid as no teacher has received any payment of arrears as claimed by Dr Bawumia.
The group also threatened to picket at the Jubilee house if government fails to pay them their legacy arrears.
Abdulai Muniru, President of the coalition who addressed the press indicated that all teachers who have not been paid their legacy arrears would declare a sit-down strike by 5th October if the nothing is done by the government.
The group also called on the President of the Republic of Ghana, to call the GES director to order and direct the settlement of these legacy arrears owed without further delay.
Teacher unions in the country the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) have all on several occasions threatened to lay down their tools from over the failure of the government to pay the legacy arrears.
