The All Teachers Alliance Ghana (ATAG), has revealed that the call for increment of salaries by teachers in the country is non-negotiable.

According to the group, the cost of living in the country is unbearable and its call has come “far too late”. It indicated that due to the difficult times that teachers are going through, it is only right to “give our support to the wind of agitation and encourage every teacher to join the movement” and to put pressure on the government to do the needful.

Contained in a statement dated June 23, 2022, signed by its General Secretary, Albert Dadson Amoah, it acknowledge the “positive agitation” that is growing on the teaching front and welcomed the “uproar”.

“We want GNAT, NAGRAT and CCT-GH leaders to understand that negotiating for an increment in our salary is non-negotiable and this is the ripe time to push all our energies into demanding for salary increment once and for all.”
ATAG

ATAG highlighted that it finds the call to go on strike over “Cost of Living Allowance” as insufficient. It explained that the move cannot withstand the test of time in demanding members rightful place as professionals.

“The President reiterated that ‘teachers are not meant to be millionaires’ some few months ago and if we want to exert any form of pressure it should not be done on weak fundamentals. We understand the cost of living allowance will only be negotiated within a time frame and once the economy bounced back, the government is obliged to put it on hold.”
ATAG

The Alliance expressed that it has many concerns and conditions of service for teachers remain poor as they continue to be treated as the “second choice” among all other professionals. This period, it emphasized, is giving them the opportunity to once and for all “bear our teeth” to the government in a manner that will help address all pertinent and legitimate concerns immediately.

“We must not put our eggs in one basket and pretend the government will listen to us whilst other serious concerns and issues beg for attention.”
ATAG

Challenges of teachers in the country

Elaborating the concerns of its members, ATAG stated that the leadership of GNAT, NAGRAT and CCT-GH are not oblivious of the fact that if the COLA is granted, it may force the government not to consider any other form of salary increment. This, it explained, is due to the fact that the economy is already bad.

ATAG opined that the government will be tempted to avoid teachers on “any form of increment” even if it decides to give teachers 10% of the COLA which, the group maintained, is temporal.

“Teachers will be happy with a permanent 15% increase in their salary immediately than a COLA that is subjected to a period.”
ATAG

Additionally, ATAG revealed that the government, through the Ghana Education Service, has failed to honour certain privileges due teachers. These privileges, it stated, include promotion, incremental jumps, study leave with or without pay, re-engagement and other host of allowances.

“We want this current strike to capture these issues as well because our suffering as teachers is partly due to the refusal of our employer to adhere to granting various privileges to us.”
ATAG

The Alliance opined that other teacher associations such GNAT, NAGRAT and CCT-GH are not encouraging teachers to go on strike to save their image, despite many threats to the government over the “TM1 laptop” which did not yield results. As it stands, it disclosed that primary school teachers are yet to receive their laptops.

“Going on strike over one issue is insufficient to put legitimate pressure on the government. Primary school teachers need their laptops from which their CPD allowance had been deducted already for it.”
ATAG

ATAG maintained that the “time for real pressure is now” and cautioned the leadership of GNAT, NAGRAT, and CCT-GH not to “sound a wrong trumpet” and turn around to blame the government for ineptitude and bad faith.