CETAG declares indefinite strike

The National Executive Committee (NEC) with the consent and agreement of the National Council and the entire members of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) writes per Article 15 Section 3 of the CETAG has  declared an indefinite strike involving all 46 public colleges of education in Ghana from Friday 14th June, 2024.

According to the declaration, “The indefinite strike action which takes effect from Friday 14th June 2024 is to guarantee our economic rights as members of CETAG under Article 24(1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Section 10 (a) and (b) of the Labour Act,2003 (Act 651).”

READ ALSO: CETAG demands for immediate implementation of NLC Compulsory Arbitration Awards by the employer

The declaration of this indefinite strike action per CETAG’s release is grounded in the following reasons:

1. Failure of our Employer to comply with the National Labour Commission (NLCc) decisions and orders given by the Compulsory Arbitration Awards agreed by the parties as follows;

(a) an order for the payment of one-nmonth salary to each entitled member of CETAG as compensation for additional duty performed in 2022,

(b) an order that the agreed rates of allowances payable to public universities be applied to deserving members of CETAG,

(c) an order that the implementation of the completed StaffAudit exercise shall commence from January 2023,

2. CETAG has taken all the necessary steps to ensure compliance by the Employer but the Employer has failed or refused to implement the above orders,

3. To enforce implementation, CETAG undertook a strike action but the NLC in August 2023 asked CETAG to call off the strike which CETAG complied with the hope and belief that the NLC would ensure the implementation of its orders,

4. Failure of the Employer to pay to deserving members of CETAG a top-up of research allowance as arears arising from CETAG’s 2023 Condition of Service (CoS) agreement signed with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC),

5. Failure of the Conference of Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF) and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to rescind their decision of unilateraly varying CETAG’s existing office holding positions and allowances in violation of the Harmonised Statutes for Colleges of Education and the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement signed with the FWSC which had approval from the Ministry of Finance (MMoF) in July 2023 with an ending date of 3 1st December 2024,

6. Failure to restore the frozen August 2023 salaries of the CETAG National President and other members without justifiable cause.

7. Since November 2023, CETAG has written three (3) letters to the Commission requesting tor enforcement of the Commission’s orders. This yielded no response from the Commission.

“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.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh