Call off your strike, return to the negotiation table – FWSC to teacher unions

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has asked three teachers' groups to call off their nationwide strike action.

The groups are the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT)

The unions have declared a strike action, accusing the government of failing to address their working conditions.

They have also criticized the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission for its slow response to their concerns about conditions of service.

The Commission has, however, refuted the claims made by the unions.

The Chief Executive Officer for the Commission, Ing. Benjamin Arthur, told the media that negotiations are underway to address the unions’ grievances.

“We were very surprised... We have been engaging them over a period concerning some requests that they placed before the employer for negotiations,” Arthur said.

He further disclosed that they had recently received funds from the Ministry of Finance to facilitate wage negotiations.

He said the Commission had informed the teacher unions about the availability of funds and scheduled a meeting for Thursday, March 21, 2024.

“We admit tremendous progress; we were very expecting that Thursday... we should be able to, if possible, conclude the negotiation.

“When the news got to us, we were very much surprised... Why were we surprised? We were surprised simply because we had been engaging the teacher unions over a period concerning some requests that they placed before the employer for negotiations. We have been engaging them,” he stressed.