Gov’t tasked to expedite action on all outstanding allowances due teachers

20-03-2010 Gov’t tasked to expedite action on all outstanding allowances due teachers

Government as a matter of urgency has been asked to expedite action on the payment of salaries and outstanding allowances to all qualified teachers across the country. In view of this, government and the Fair Wages and Salary Commission (FWSC) should also sit up with the various groups who have outstanding issues regarding job evaluation, base payment, relative ratio, and placement among others to pave way for the test running of the single-spine salary structure for implementation. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of an emergency regional meeting of the Upper East Branch of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at Bolgatanga. The communiqué further advised government to put all necessary policies in place in ensuring that the proposed single spine pay policy does not fail Ghanaians, as a white paper has been issued for its smooth take off by July 2010, adding that, excuses or failure to implement the policy would not be at the best interest of the government. The communiqué is therefore calling on the fair wages and salaries commission, the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education to endorse the road map for the implementation of the collective agreement signed on December 31st last year by the unions as a working document. The council which lauded government’s efforts at providing affordable education also stressed the need for the government and the educational authorities to providing the needed infrastructure to accommodate the over 140,000 students due to gain admission into the second cycle institutions come September, this year. Any delay according to the council, would adversely affect a great number of prospective students particularly, in the Upper East Region. The council, however, reiterated teacher’s commitment to their duties and expressed the hope that government on the other hand will show equal commitment to addressing concerns raised by teachers for effective education delivery in Ghana.

GBC END IA/