Members of the Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) in the Upper West Region will from next Monday begin an industrial action to back their demands for better conditions of service.
At a press conference in Wa on Wednesday, the teachers said their intended action has been necessitated by the reluctance of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the Ministry of Education to listen and respond to some important issues sent to them in August this year.
Mr. Calistus Haruna, Regional Chairman of the association who read the statement said the issues were contained in a communiqu� issued at the end or their National Delegates Congress held in Cape Coast from August 10 to 14 this year.
These included: "that Government must take steps to resume and conclude negotiations on responsibility and vehicle maintenance allowance of teachers by the end of October 2009."
The GES was further called upon to use resources allocated to it judiciously to be able to pay the allowances.
The Director-General was to respond in writing whether it had complied with the GES council's directive not to compel teachers to supervise and invigilate West African Examination Council's (WAEC) exams.
The Graduate Teachers also called on GES to conduct interview eligible teachers for promotion to the rank of Assistant Director.
According to them, GES had failed to do so especially for those teaching in the Teacher Training Colleges.
Mr. Haruna said instead of meeting the above demands, the vehicle maintenance allowance had rather been reduced from 40 Ghana cedis to seven Ghana cedis while the responsibility allowance was brought down to 30 Ghana pesewas from one Ghana cedi.
He said most of the teachers who qualified to attend interviews for promotion to Assistant Director were never invited with the excuse that the budget could not support it.
The Director-general had also failed to write to the Headmasters of the Senior High Schools to the effect that teachers were no longer under any compulsion to invigilate WAEC exams.
"NAGRAT will remain non- partisan, prepared to negotiate and also listen. If the above fail then we shall have no other choice but to speak the language most politicians understand", the statement added.
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