Teachers Demand Payment of Salary Arrears

Teachers within the Suhum- Kraboa-Coaltar District, who have been affected by the newly adjusted salary levels are preparing to battle the Ghana Education Service (GES) authorities over the delay in the payment of their salary arrears.

The affected teachers, who are in the categories of Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents, have resolved to advise themselves until their grievances are met.

This stems from the fact that barely six months after the implementation of the new salary scheme, some of their colleagues who have just enrolled in the system have been paid whilst they are yet to receive their salaries as promised.

To this end, they blamed the GES authorities for failing to rectify their salaries, which were promised by the end of February, 2002.

In a notice to the GES Director copied to the District Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) dated March 4, this year, the teachers notified the GES authorities about their failure to rectify their salaries which were promised by the end of February, this year, and warned to advise themselves immediately until the GES met their demands.

The teachers' decision came after the GES authorities had met them at the district during the early part of last month promising heaven and earth that the aggrieved teachers would have their arrears paid, but since then they claimed no word has been heard from the authorities.

According to one of the aggrieved teachers who spoke with the Chronicle recently in Accra, the GES action is a total marginalization of them because, since the implementation of the scheme, those who were just recruited into the system have been paid whilst they continued to struggle for theirs.

However, in a press release dated March 1, 2002, and signed by Mr. John Budu-Smith, Acting Director General of the GES, three days before the aggrieved teachers fired their notice to the GES, the GES acknowledged that indeed the teachers were aggrieved due to the delay in its implementation of the newly adjusted salary levels but reassured them that approval had been given for the implementation.

According to the release, which was also meant for distribution throughout the various regions and districts, the process of payment had been initiated.

And that to ensure smooth implementation of the process and to minimize errors as much as possible, the GES had considered it necessary that the exercise is taken in phases.

It also directed the Regional and District Directors of Education to submit the necessary input forms to facilitate early processing for payment.

But what has caused the delay, according to Mr. Joseph Kwesi Odoom, Head of Public Relations at the GES, was the upgrading system that the change from one level to another coupled with the approval of inputs.

On January 28, this year, for instance, the District Directors were requested by GNAT to instruct their IPPD Officers to submit inputs on teachers affected promptly to the GES Headquarters, Accra, for the conversions to be done.

That was after an error had been noticed by the Ministry of Finance in the Appellate Body's table 1, which placed the Diplomate professional at level 13 while the matrix in the table indicated level 12.

This had to be rectified and the appropriate one sent.

With regard to recruits being the first batch to benefit from the scheme before the old ones, Odoom noted that it was easier in vetting that batch than the old, which required validating the grades.

He, however, told Chronicle that payment of the teachers' arrears would soon be effected as the other phases are being passed out.