The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Mr Thomas Musah has, on behalf of Organised Labour, directed the striking teacher unions to call off the industrial action.
This comes after their demands for Cost of Living Allowance were met by the government. After a back and forth between the two parties, the government and the leader of the unions agreed on a 15% Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) to be paid to all public sector workers. It takes retrospective effect from July 1, 2022.
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting at which the deal was brokered on Thursday, Mr. Musah urged the teachers to return to their posts. “We wish also to inform them that effective July 14 2022 in the year of our Lord, we have called off the strike that we embarked upon on the 4th of July,” he said.
On Monday, July 4, 2022, four teacher unions declared an indefinite nationwide strike over demands for the payment of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).
The unions, comprising the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT), demanded 20% of their basic salary as COLA.
They blamed their industrial action on the government’s failure to pay the COLA, which they argue could have helped to mitigate the impact of the rising cost of living. But after a June 30 deadline was exhausted, the workers withdrew their services, both in and outside the classroom. However, the strike action has been called off today after the government granted their demand for the COLA.
