?..over non-payment of teachers transfer grants, 2011 and 2012 arrears
Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-GH) have promised the ruling NDC government of a massive nationwide strike if after Wednesday 14th May government still refuses to pay their 2011 and 2012 arrears including teachers transfer grants.
Prior to this, GNAT have already decided to disassociate itself from this industrial action however the CCT-GH has gathered the momentum to finally relinquish their duties to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike over non-payment of monies due them.
Meanwhile, during a chitchat, some members of the Coalitions said they have suspected the reason behinds GNAT pull out which is fear of been victimized.
However, they have given the ruling NDC government a two day ultimatum otherwise they have no alternative than to boycott the classrooms in order to demand all payments of arrears by force.
The president of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-GH), Ernest Opoku said the first issue is government?s adamant posture of non-payment of 2011 and 2012 incremental credit arrears.
According to the President, the Association embarked on a strike action in March 2013 to press home their demands for the two and half years incremental credit arrears.
He noted government succeeded in throwing dust into their eyes with the promise that all arrears were going to be fully paid only for them to realize that government paid only six months of the arrears to teachers leaving 2011 and 2011.
Ernest Opoku explained that in confrontation with Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) together with officials from the Finance Ministry and the Teacher Unions, those government officials only told the teachers to forfeit those arrears which they vehemently opposed.
Speaking to the media at a conference, the President added the second reason for their action is the second tier pension contributions by teachers where the unions have put in place a board of trustees to invest the contributions into meaningful ventures in order to alleviate financial problems of their retired teachers.
According to him, they have come to realized that the NDC government is unduly scavenging on that money to the detriment of their colleagues who are due for retirement next year.
He said the whereabout of those contributions is yet to be known but they suspected that those monies have deliberately been diverted to some government?s official?s Bank Accounts for reasons best known to them.
Mr. Opoku noted government must take another critical look into the second tier pension of GES by releasing the funds to the board of trustees for investments.
Mr. Opoku said the third problem is the situation where government has taken decision only to pay teachers three months instead of the two years arrears.
The President said this maladroit policy sends a signal to the teacher that their work is less important forgetting that all the stakeholders, politicians, lawyers, nurses, doctors who are enjoying their fair share of the national kitty were thought and raised in the classrooms by a teacher.
However, they are asking government to discard with immediate effect, the new three months payments of arrears.
The 41 year old Ernest Opoku stated another issue of concern was the GES staff rationalization and non-payment of transfer grants.
He said the GES has the mandatory role to pay teacher transfer grants and T&T which amounts to two months gross salary of the teacher but the payment has been halted for more than two years now.
?We know the era of negotiations has reached it elastic limit. The institutions mandated to ensure fair play are visibly absent. We don?t need any form of negotiations that will impoverish the Ghanaian teacher. What we want to hear is ?the money is ready go for it?,? he stated.
The Coalition is asking that the obnoxious GES staff rationalization policy and non-payment of transfers grants and T&T to be put on hold until government show its readiness of complete payment.
The President indicated this time around, they have vowed to remain in the nationwide strike action as long as it may be until their Bank Accounts confirm all payments have been made.
According to CCT-GH, because protestations of teachers do not result in immediate consequences government takes them for granted but this time around they are not going to beg for what belongs to them.
Source: Abubakari Seidu Ajarfor, Punch Newspaper
