TEWU happy with government's efforts to address teachers concerns

The Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) of TUC Ghana, says it is happy that some government agencies in the education sector have started 2020 with proactive steps to addressing a number of issues concerning TEWU members with the goal of promoting and sustaining the cordial relations to engender healthy teaching and learning environment.

In a statement signed by its Acting General Secretary, Mark Dankyira Korankye, TEWU placed on record that, discussions so far with the education authorities, especially, the management of the Ghana Education Service (GES), on the issue of the payment of critical support to the remaining classes of TEWU members under GES, has progressed smoothly.

The statement indicated that “the leadership and the entire membership of TEWU, are upbeat that the other stakeholders including the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Ministries of Education and Finance will fast track the necessary processes so that the remaining classes of TEWU members who are also qualified to enjoy the Critical Support will benefit from it soonest.”

Currently, it noted, only 10 out of the more than 22 classes of TEWU members are enjoying the Critical Support.

The Critical Support is paid to a section of Ghanaian workers for the peculiar nature of their jobs.

According to the statement, it is the expectation of TEWU that the stakeholders with the responsibilities of working towards the resolution of other pending issues like negotiations on Conditions of Service for the Public and Technical Universities and Polytechnics as well as the Colleges of Education, the migration to appropriate grades under the Single Spine Salary Structure, the undue delays in promotions among others, will tackle them with zeal as the union witnessed with the discussion on the Critical support.

Meanwhile, TEWU acknowledged in the statement that in 2019, there were moves to declare series of nation-wide strikes to press home demands of the non-teaching staff in our educational institutions, but the relevant stakeholders initiated dialogues in good faith AND, the industrial actions were averted.

” TEWU hopes such proactive steps will continue in this New Year, 2020, so that the union will not be compelled to activate its processes to embark on industrial actions,” it said.

The statement added that “TEWU therefore calls on agencies like the Ministries of Education, Finance, Employment and Labour Relations, as well as Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, not to drag their feet on workers concerns, but adopt proactive consensus approach and negotiate in good faith, in order to help diffuse the tension of strikes by other Labour unions and associations.”