NAGRAT Petitions FWSC Over Allowances

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has petitioned the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to speed up negotiations for the payment of teacher’s allowances with Organized Labour.

The teachers’ group claimed they have not received their categories two and three allowances since the introduction of the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS).

According to them, negotiations to get teachers allowances paid have delayed, while other public servants had theirs worked out and were enjoying their allowances.

“We were expecting that this negotiation should have been completed so that it could be included in next year’s budget so teachers could start enjoying these allowances, but that has not been done,” Patrick Agboyibor, Greater Accra chairman of NAGRAT bemoaned.

However, he said there were some public sector workers who were enjoying these categories two and three allowances.

Agboyibor made this statement when he addressed the third seminar on promotional interview for graduate teachers.

The two-day seminar, held in all the regions for NAGRAT members, was instituted to help teachers pass their promotional interviews organized by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

The seminar, attended by over 250 graduate teachers and GES personnel, was aimed at preparing teachers and educational officers on how to organize and comport themselves during promotional interviews.

Speaking with the media, Agboyibor said the association felt cheated as the negotiations for the payment of general and specific allowances which started from February, have not been concluded.

He said the technical team that the commission instituted to look into the matter, has also not solved the issue.

“Our members are agitated, so we plead with fair wages to start the negotiation on time so that our members will not push us to the wall for us to do what we do not want to do,” he said.

He also called on the leadership of GES to negotiate with the Ghana Revenue Authority on how teachers could enjoy tax relief on the huge monthly taxes they paid.

He also urged the council responsible for interviewing graduates to give those who failed the interview another opportunity, as the refusal of their applications was not motivating.