Gov't optimistic of preventing intended strike by teachers

Europa 17:33 - 23 February 2016

Government has expressed hopes of resolving all differences associated with payments of outstanding arrears of teachers in order to prevent any strike by the teachers.

This was made known by the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Haruna Iddrisu, after a meeting between government and the leadership of the teacher unions on Tuesday.

Addressing the media, Haruna Iddrisu said government “is making efforts to avert any strike by the various teacher associations in the coming days.”

The meeting which failed to yield any positive results will continue on Wednesday, the Minister said.

“We will continue to dialogue until we get them to decline the threat of the strike action. Tomorrow [Wednesday] we will make a definite pronouncement on how we intend to resolve the issue. Some of the issues they’ve raised are legitimate [and] there are others that the GES has raised about irregularities, all which will be probed further by the Auditor General,” Haruna Iddrisu added.

Teachers across the country have served notice of a strike on February 29, 2016 if government fails to pay them their outstanding arrears by the end of February.

Speaking on behalf of the teacher unions at the end of the meeting on Tuesday, the Head of Compensation and Working Conditions at GNAT, Kwamena Ahenakwa-Quarshie, said their position on the strike remains unchanged if government fails to meet their demands.