Govt reaches agreement with CETAG
The government and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) have reached an agreement to use the nomenclature scheme of service and conditions of service of affiliated universities for the migration of members of the association.
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In line with that, their conditions of service would be pegged to those of assistant lecturers, lecturers, senior lecturers, associate professors and professors as pertains in the affiliated universities.
They further agreed that payment after the migration will reflect in the October 2024 salaries of members, after which the parties would meet to discuss the payment plan of arrears.
On the issue of compensation for all-year-round, the Ministry of Finance is said to have done the necessary ground works for validated colleges and forwarded same to the Ministry of Education for onward payment by the end of August, this month.
The CETAG members also appealed to the government to pay them their salaries for July 2024, which was frozen as a result of the strike action.
However, the government team said it would make the payment once CETAG called off the strike.
Representatives of CETAG at the meeting said they would consult their council by the close of today to determine whether to call off the strike or not. The leadership of CETAG declared the indefinite strike on June 14, 2024.
Agreement
This was contained in an agreement signed between the government and CETAG at a stakeholders’ meeting in Accra yesterday.
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The Minister of Employment, Labour Relations and Pensions, Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, signed for the government, while the National Trustee of CETAG, Maxwell Bunu, appended his signature for the association.
Present were the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum; the Chief Executive Officer of Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Ben Arthur; the Director-General of Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Ahmed Jinapor; representatives of the Principals of Colleges of Education (PRINCOF), and the Ministry of Finance.
Strike
The CETAG trustee said: "I don't think with my experience it will be prudent for CETAG to remain on strike. And so, as we have indicated here, we will certainly go back and convey all the issues that have been discussed and approved by the parties here so that by close of today, in consultation with council, we will work to do the needful".
He said agreements had been reached and commitments made, “so we will do the needful when we return to council”.
Progress
Mr Baffour-Awuah said the parties had made significant progress and that he was convinced the teachers would return to school by tomorrow, after consultations with their council.
He thanked all those who had played various roles in helping to resolve the issue.
The minister also expressed appreciation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his Vice, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, for their involvement and commitment to resolve the matter amicably.
“I want to take this opportunity to urge members of CETAG to hold their council meeting as early as possible so that we will have a definite position within the shortest possible time,” he said.
The minister further called on students who had gone home to return to their various campuses since academic work could resume soon.
He said both PRINCOF and CETAG members had been tasked to work together to ensure that hours lost were made up in order that it did not affect the academic calender.
For his part, Dr Adutwum also said: “I am happy that we have made progress”.
