3 Teacher Unions Declare Another Strike

Three teacher unions in the country will begin another indefinite strike from Tuesday. The Unions are the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT). Though the three teacher unions are already on strike with other labour groups, the latest strike declared by them [three teacher unions] is to protest the non-payment of their transfer grants and vehicle maintenance allowances. They say efforts to get government to address their grievances have proved futile. The three unions maintained that they will not call off their strike even if the forum protesting the non-payment of their pension funds call off the ongoing strike. According to Citifmonline, the National Vice President of NAGRAT, Angel Kabonu said �if our grievances are not addressed teachers will remain on strike until our grievances are addressed.� Responding to an earlier defiance by their members to strike, Mr. Kabonu said: �The situation the media reported earlier did not reflect the true situation. I want the media to go on the ground again and you will see a different situation�. Various labour groups embarked on a strike on October 22 to protest against their tier two pension funds which was in the custody of government. The workers want government to release the funds, for them select a fund manager of their choice but government is insisting on selecting a fund manager for them. The strike has led to the closure of some public schools and some public institutions. Government has described labour�s action as unlawful and unnecessary. It has dragged the various labour unions to court in a bid to seek interpretation of the Pensions Act.