W/R TEWU holds Quadrennial Conference

Takoradi, April. 12, GNA - Nana Kofi Adjei Imbeah, Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Director of Education, has asked the Teachers and Education Workers' union (TEWU), to look into the issue of indiscipline in the society and at the workplace. He made the call at the opening ceremony of the 10th Quadrennial Western regional Delegates conference of TEWU at Takoradi on Tuesday. The conference was under the theme: 93Sustaining Educational Challenges, The Role of TEWU as a Stakeholder". Mr Imbeah, who was the Guest Speaker, said the work code of the teaching profession abhors certain indiscipline that the members continued to disregard.

He said absenteeism, lateness to work, malingering, excessive drinking habits and insubordination were few of the indiscipline acts. Mr Imbeah said when such unacceptable behavior received reprimand personnel saw otherwise and fell on 93TEWU or GNAT (Ghana National Association of Teachers) or NAGRAT (National Association of Graduate Teachers)" to bail them out. MORE Mr Imbeah said the quest for materialism had eroded social values and ethics to the extent that some personnel used their office as a cloak for extortion. He said such acts did not only dampen morale but also bred frustration, which reduced the impact of quality education delivery, adding 93It is high time the negative syndrome was exorcised from the Ghana Education Service (GES)".

He also asked the conference to explore further avenues of solving management issues so as to reduce to the barest minimum the threat of strikes and demonstrations, which are inimical to efforts at providing quality education

Mr Peter Lumor, National Chairman of TEWU, said the union would use the conference to reposition itself to deal with the challenges that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission Act and the Labour Commission Act posed to the union and the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) He urged the conference to critically look at the implementation of the Single Spine Pay Policy and make suggestions for implementation.

Mr Lumor said the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, have introduced new system of negotiating salaries and conditions of service and many negotiations had become centralized. He said workers needed to get conversant with these new systems and said the Labour Act, had also changed the way unions do business. Mr Lumor advised members of the union to acquire skills in Information Communication Technology (ICT) because the technology could make them redundant.

Mr Seidu Bogobiri, Deputy General Secretary of TEWU, said the union was waiting for a date from the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission for the two bodies to meet and take a decision on areas that the 15 per cent Retention Premium would cover in the case of the members of the union.

He assured members of the union in the Ghana Education Service (GES) that the TEWU and other stakeholders were working constructively to resolve all issues connected to the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) and the review of the expired Conditions of Service. Mr Bogobiri assured members of the union in the public universities, polytechnics and other tertiary and subvented institutions that the union was in touch with the authorities to decide on the implementation of the SSSS and thereafter, review their expired Conditions of Service. He said, 93TEWU as part of organized labor will continue to ensure that the salary structure is improved by negotiated base pay and pay-point relativity with the passing of each year. "Organized labour has already submitted proposals on the base pay and pay-point relativity for 2011 to the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission", he added.