The Ministry of Education has scheduled a meeting with the three teacher unions for Monday in an attempt to resolve a dispute over unpaid promotion arrears and other outstanding demands.
The meeting follows the three unions — the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG)- declaring a nationwide strike over unpaid promotion arrears and delays in negotiations with the government.
The Press Secretary and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Hasmin Mohammed, reacting to news that the various teacher unions had declared a sit-down strike starting Monday, September 28, said the Minister would engage the various stakeholders to resolve the dispute and prevent the strike from further disrupting the academic calendar.
“I’ve just had information from the honourable Minister that we intend to meet them on Monday to continue to pursue them to call off the strike,” he said.
Strike
The three teacher unions yesterday declared an immediate nationwide industrial action following the government’s failure to resolve outstanding issues concerning the payment of promotion allowances and arrears owed to teachers.
The unions had given the government until midday on September 24, 2026, to address the concerns
The unions said the decision followed what they described as prolonged delays, unfulfilled commitments and growing frustration over conditions affecting teachers.
“In light of the above circumstances and given the delays, unfulfilled promises on the part of the duty bearers and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), as well as threats by the rank-and-file of our members, we, the teacher unions, do stand with our members and hereby declare a nationwide industrial action (Strike), effective today, Friday, September 25, 2026,” the statement said.
In a joint statement dated September 25, the unions cited three major concerns, including the delay in negotiating a new Collective Agreement, the failure to automatically place newly promoted teachers on the appropriate salary scales, and the non-implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.
The unions said the existing Collective Agreement had expired, while negotiations for a new agreement, which they say should have been completed by June 2026, remain outstanding.
They said the matter had been raised with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) several times, but was yet to be resolved.
The teacher unions are also demanding the automatic placement of teachers who successfully passed the promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 onto their respective salary scales, including payment of arrears effective January 2026.
Platform
Mr Mohammed said the dispute could not be resolved by the Education Ministry alone, as it required the involvement of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.
He said the Minister would use Monday’s meeting to provide a platform for the relevant institutions and the unions to engage directly to address the unions’ concerns and seek an end to the strike.
The Ministry, he added, was “deeply worried” about the strike because of its potential impact on the academic calendar.
Mr Mohammed said significant efforts had been made to restore the calendar to normalcy after previous disruptions, with pupils and students from kindergarten through to the university now reporting in September.
He was concerned that continued industrial action could undermine efforts to return the academic calendar to a harmonised schedule, with students only recently returning to school.
