CETAG suspends month-old strike action after MoE’s appeal

The leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) following an appeal by the Minister in charge of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has suspended its over-month-old strike action with immediate effect.

A source said the Associaton agreed to suspend the industrial action after Adutwum made three passionate appeals for the strike to be stopped to enable him to intervene to resolve all outstanding concerns within two weeks.

“The leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association consulted members on the matter and received a majority endorsement of the rank and file on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, to suspend the strike,” the source said.

It added that “a communique to bind the parties to commit to engaging to bring finality to CETAG’s 2021 Conditions of Service and payment of compensation for all year-round work for the 2021/2022 academic year was signed.”

Members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) after the month-old strike action suspension are expected to resume work on Monday, December 19, 2022, at their various Colleges across the country.

If you will recall, AcademicWeek.com earlier reported that members of the CETAG risk forfeiting their 2022 December salary if their over-month-old industrial action continues after week four.

The December salary threat comes after forty-four out of the forty-six local branches under the public Colleges of Education Teachers’ Association of Ghana (CETAG) voted to continue with their nationwide industrial action.

In a voting process, one of the Colleges under the Education Teachers Association – Methodist College of Education – voted to suspend the strike for two weeks but would resume if their welfare concerns are not satisfactorily addressed.

But despite a plea by the Ministry of Education for members of the Teachers Association to call off its strike, the leadership has said they will rescind the strike action only after its demands for better conditions of service are met.

The Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum in a letter to the Colleges of Education Association, indicated that the pending issues would be resolved within two weeks after the immediate suspension of the industrial action.

“I reiterate the plea for the strike to be called off for further discussions on the following: the effective date of implementation of the conditions of service, generic allowances, compensation for all year-round work and the determination of a road map for the staff audit,” he stated.