The Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) has expressed strong dissatisfaction with a directive from the Ghana Education Service (GES) asking teachers who have not been paid for 14 months not to stage a picket at its office.
According to the Association, the directive is unfair and insensitive to the situation of the affected teachers, many of whom have been working without pay for over a year.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on March 12, PRETAG President King Ali Awudu, said the Association would intensify efforts to demand the immediate payment of the outstanding salaries from government.
He explained that while the Association respects the directive from GES, it believes teachers should not be silenced over legitimate grievances.
“We are not saying the directive should be disregarded. We are employees of GES, and those teachers who have not been paid are still employees of GES. If GES says they should stay in the classroom and not come out to picket, we are also saying they should stay. But we, the teacher unions, will take up the fight and demand justice for them,” he said.
Mr. Awudu warned that the situation could lead to the creation of legacy arrears, similar to what occurred during the tenure of former Finance Minister.
“Seth Terkper issued a fiat that when teachers are recruited and their arrears accumulate, only three months should be paid. That directive affected more than 1,000 teachers, and as we speak their legacy arrears have still not been paid. This time, we will not allow that to happen,” he stated.
The PRETAG President King Ali Awudu also rejected government claims that the affected teachers were recruited without financial clearance, describing the explanation as misleading.
“It is never true that those teachers were recruited without financial clearance, and we urge the government spokesperson to desist from making that claim,” he said.
Mr. Awudu further questioned why nurses recruited around the same time had already been placed on the appropriate salary scale while teachers continue to wait for payment.
He cited a directive by Finance Minister, Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, to the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department to clear the nurses’ arrears.
“Nurses and teachers were recruited at the same time, yet all the nurses have been placed on scale. The current Minister of Finance, Dr. Ato Forson, directed the Controller that by April, two months should be paid, by May three months should be paid, and the rest subsequently. But the teachers have been ignored. Why?” he asked.
PRETAG says it will continue to push for the full payment of the outstanding salaries and ensure that teachers are not left with unpaid legacy arrears.
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