Teachers in Colleges of Education declare strike

The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has declared an indefinite strike effective today, Friday, June 14, 2024, over their conditions of service.

In a statement on Friday, June 14, 2024, CETAG disclosed that the strike is to “guarantee the economic rights of its members under Article 24(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Section 10(a) and (b) of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651).”

The association outlines several reasons justifying their strike, including the government’s delay in implementing the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) Arbitral Award Orders and other agreed conditions of work and the failure of the government to pay qualified members a top-up of research allowance in arrears since the 2023 Conditions of Service arrangement with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.

The others include the failure of the Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF) to reverse unilateral decisions varying CETAG’s existing office holding positions contrary to the 2023 Conditions of Service arrangement with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the failure of the government to restore the frozen August 2023 salaries of its President and other members “without justifiable cause.”

The strike will affect all 46 public colleges of education in Ghana, according to the statement.

“CETAG wishes to call on every member to immediately comply with this declaration by withdrawing teaching and related services indefinitely across all 46 public colleges of education until all the orders arising from the Compulsory Arbitration Awards and related concerns are fully implemented by way of payments to our members and implementations thereof,” the statement concluded.