The three pre-tertiary teacher unions have rejected the government’s appeal for them to suspend their nationwide strike, insisting that they will only return to the classroom after concrete steps are taken to address their outstanding demands.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) maintained their position after meeting Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu and other government officials on Monday, September 28.
According to GNAT, the meeting did not produce any fresh commitments that would justify calling off the industrial action.
“It has been the old story of promises upon promises,” the union said after the meeting.
“Where we have reached at the moment, we are not taking promises. We want action.”
GNAT subsequently directed its members to continue staying away from the classroom until the government demonstrates that it has begun implementing the issues at the centre of the dispute.
“Our teachers must continue to stay home until we see something concrete. Until we see the salary, the arrears reflecting on our payslips and credited to our accounts. Until we see that, we are not going back to school,” the union said.
GNAT Head of Salaries, Isaac Baah, said the unions were no longer prepared to rely on verbal assurances from government officials.
He particularly demanded documentary evidence to support the government’s indication that the Deprived Area Allowance would begin in January 2027.
“So what is the evidence? What has been put on paper? What is on paper to show that they will start paying the deprived area allowance by 2027? We want to see it. We want to see something documented,” he said.
Mr Baah explained that the unions wanted a clear written timeline showing when the various outstanding issues would be resolved and evidence that the implementation process had commenced.
He also raised concerns about the delay in negotiations for a new Collective Agreement, noting that the existing agreement had expired without a replacement being concluded.
According to him, the delay has affected allowances that teachers were due to receive in September.
“There are allowances that ought to be paid this month, September. And because it has expired, we’ve not concluded on it. And there’s no timeline for when we are going to finish with the negotiation,” he said.
He added that government representatives had indicated that a timeline for completing the negotiations would be presented at a further meeting scheduled for Tuesday.
“They said when we meet on Tuesday, there will be timelines. So let us meet on Tuesday. They should give us a timeline. If we accept it, so be it,” he said.
Mr Baah said a written commitment could provide a basis for the unions to reconsider their position and consult their members.
He explained that if the government committed in writing to completing the negotiations by a specified date, such as the middle or end of October, the unions could present that commitment to teachers for consideration.
“If we know that and it is on paper, and we bring it out, and everybody sees it, our constituents, the teachers, see that this is what we have on paper, definitely we’ll have no choice but to say that, oh, because of the way negotiations are going and where we’ve gotten to now, let us go back to the classroom,” he said.
“So it is not just by word of mouth. It is something that we have to see, something concrete.”
The unions’ stance comes after Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu appealed to them to suspend the strike and allow discussions with government to continue.
At Monday’s meeting, the Minister acknowledged the concerns raised by the teacher unions but urged them to consider the disruption caused by the industrial action, particularly its potential effect on the academic calendar.
The government is seeking to protect the September-to-July academic calendar, which schools only recently returned to following previous disruptions.
The meeting included representatives of GNAT, NAGRAT, PRETAG, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The three unions began their nationwide strike on September 25 after a September 24 deadline they had given the government to address their concerns expired without a resolution.
Their demands include the conclusion of negotiations for a new Collective Agreement, automatic placement of teachers who passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 onto the appropriate salary scales, and payment of outstanding arrears dating back to January 2026.
They are also demanding the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance for teachers working in deprived and hard-to-reach communities.
The unions had earlier accepted government assurances that the promotion placements would be completed by the end of September. However, they maintain that the commitment has not been fully implemented.
For now, the unions say they will continue the strike until the government provides evidence that their demands are being implemented rather than relying on further assurances.
