Tripartite Committee intervenes in teachers' payroll crisis

Accra, July 10, GNA - The National Tripartite Committee said on Thursday that it has intervened in the teachers' payroll crisis after organising a meeting that provided the platform for the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Controller and Accountant General's Department (CAGD) to explore the issues at stake and find common ground approach to a solution.

An official statement said the extraordinary meeting, which was held on June 30, specifically to address the unending teachers' grievances on payroll anomalies, was chaired by the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea.

Also in attendance were representatives of Employers led by Ms Joyce Aryee, organised labour led by Mr Kofi Asamoah, GNAT led by Mrs. Irene Duncan-Adanusa and officials of the CAGD led by Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie.

The statement said among the long standing issues were non-payment of the 10 per cent salary arrears due to teachers who retired from the Ghana Education Service before December 31, 2007 and non-payment of blocked October 20006 salaries to erring GNAT members who were granted clemency by the Ghana Education Service Council's dated as for back as December 8, 2006.

Others are non-payment of salary arrears for teachers who were promoted as far back as 2005/2006 academic year, unending saga of non-payment of salary arrears to some newly-recruited and posted teachers, the new phenomenon of tax arrears which has infected the pay roll endlessly. The statement said in this phenomenon, teachers who did not enjoy arrears suffered the tax arrears deduction and others who got some salary arrears sometimes paid tax arrears bigger than the salary arrears.

Other problems are inability to deduct union dues due GNAT even though thousands of teachers have given their written authority, loss of membership by numerous serving GNAT members due to unexplained deletions on the pay roll. The statement said there had been occasions when large numbers of teachers had had no salaries at all due to total deletion of the details from the pay roll. There had also been huge unauthorized and sustained deductions to teachers fund and credit mall against teachers who had not transacted any business with the named agencies. The meeting found that the main causes identified were communication gaps and software problems due to the migration from IPPD I to IPPD II.

"The Controller and Accountant-General, Mr. Sottie personally undertook to have the issues addressed expeditiously," the statement said. The Minister tasked CAGD to submit a report on the courses of action taken to the next meeting of the Tripartite on July 14. 10 July 08