Striking teacher unions boycott day two of meeting with government

The striking pre-tertiary teacher unions have boycotted the second day of their meeting with some government representatives.

The decision by the teacher unions, according to a report by 3news.com sighted by GhanaWeb, is a result of a decision by the government to file a case against the unions with the National Labour Commission.

After declaring a nationwide strike following the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah by President Akufo-Addo as the Director General of the Ghana Education Service, the government and the unions held their first meeting on the matter on Monday, November 7, 2022.

“I can tell you on authority that so far so good we have had a very constructive meeting. The parties have agreed to adjourn and resume tomorrow 2PM to continue with the deliberations.

“We have not ended the meeting, the agreement here is that the two parties have agreed that we should adjourn and resume tomorrow 2PM,” President of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Rev. Isaac Owusu, told the media after the meeting on Monday.

However, the unions are said to have boycotted the second day of the meeting after it emerged that the government had lodged a complaint with the NLC over the industrial action by the labour unions.

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT), in a collective decision, announced the strike action last week.

At a press conference last week, the unions rejected the appointment of Dr Eric Nkansah, who has a banking background, as the new GES boss.

Addressing a press conference in Accra on Thursday, October 20, President of NAGRAT, Mr Angel Carbonou, said teachers were hoping that a person who has a background in education would be appointed to bring his or her expertise to bear.

“What annoyed and surprised all of us was that a new Director General has been appointed to the Ghana Education Service.

“The authority to appoint Director General of GES is the President of the land. Unfortunately, contrary to what the teacher unions indicated that, we will want a Director General who is a professional teacher, who has passed through the mill, who can bring his knowkdge, skills and influence to bear on the activities of teachers and non-teachers in the GES.

“Contrary to that, the gentlemen who was appointed yesterday is not a teacher, he is banking officer, who was a special assistant in the office of the Minister and has been appointed as the DG of the GES. We are not happy with this development, it is as of we don’t have professionals and well educated people who have gone through the mill in education in this country to run education,” he stated.

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