The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE), has directed all principals of the various Colleges of Education not to validate teachers of the colleges for the receipt of their salaries for November.
The NCTE said an indefinite strike declared by the teachers, who are members of the College of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), to protest their conditions of service was illegal and needless
“Upon consultation with the Hon. Minister for Education, it has been decided that salaries of all striking CETAG members MUST NOT be validated for the month of November, 2018 and subsequently until the illegal strike has been called off. Kindly take note and act accordingly without fail.”
CETAG is in the third week of a strike declared in October over the failure of government pay them their Interim Market Premium as well as Book and Research allowance.
Negotiations between the Association and stakeholders including the Ministry of Education, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the NCTE to have the concerns of CETAG addressed have so far not yielded positive results. But according to the NCTE, CETAG did not have the right to declare a strike especially as there were ongoing negotiations to address their concerns.
It said, “In the view of the FWSC, NCTW and the Ministry of Education, the strike was totally unwarranted and illegal… It was unwarranted because the issues raised were the subject of ongoing negotiations, and illegal because the required due process for declaring a strike, even if CETAG has good cause to do so, was not followed. Consequently, FWSC petitioned the National Labour Commission (NLC) drawing attention to the unwarranted action by CETAG and the need to call them to order.”
According to the NCTE, CETAG was urged to call off the strike after a meeting where the government gave assurances to working to address their concerns but CETAG failed to do so.
The NCTE in its statement copied to citinewsroom.com said “It is clear that that CETAG is determined to stampede all processes by continuing with the bad faith and uncooperative attitude even as they persist with the illegal strike. And this is in spite of the best endeavours of both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Employment and Labour to resolve the needless strife. Today, the 16th of November, 2018 will be the third week since the Colleges reopened and CETAG members have still not stepped in the classroom.”
Meanwhile, CETAG says it is yet to receive a formal communication of the NCTE’s directive to Principals of the respective colleges.
The President of CETAG, Prince Obeng-Himah, in an interview on Eyewitness News on Friday said they will take the necessary action if the directive is indeed carried out by the end of the month.
–
By: Jonas Nyabor | citinewsroom.com | Ghana
