The Bono Regional Chapter of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) is urging the government to negotiate the expiring collective agreement with the teacher unions.
At a news conference in Sunyani, Mr Thomas Asante Armstrong, Bono Regional Chairman of the GNAT, stressed that the 2020 Collective Agreement between the Government and the Teacher Unions, which went into effect retroactively in January 2020 for a three-year period, had expired.
He emphasized that GNAT members wanted to raise to the government’s notice the fact that the Collective Agreement for Teaching Staff inside the Ghana Education Service document had passed its three-year expiration date with no negotiations with teachers for a new agreement.
Many unresolved concerns from the January 2020 paper, such as allowances for teachers in underserved areas, amusement allowance, and housing/rent allowance, remain, according to Mr Armstrong.
He also mentioned auto maintenance allowance, fuel allowance, energy subsidy allowance, a new program of service clothing allowance, and risk allowance as things to think about.
He noted that GNAT was pushing the employer to begin discussions for a new Collective Agreement as soon as possible in order to establish the path forward, and he urged the government to take prompt action in resolving any remaining issues.
Mr Armstrong, on the other hand, warned that if the employer fails to respond to their call and satisfy their expectations, they will be held responsible for any action done.
Mr Monica Abayama, a member of GNAT, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that it was clear that teachers’ livelihoods, particularly those serving in disadvantaged areas, were under immense strain, while educators in urban areas face exorbitant housing rents and high cost of living.
As a result, Ms Abayama explained, these challenges had contributed significantly to the worrying increase in teacher attrition across the country, and she grieved that many of her colleagues could not handle the responsibilities imposed on them.
