According to CETAG, it wanted to come out with a decision that would reflect the collective interest of members.

The President of CETAG, Mr Prince Obeng-Himah, told the Daily Graphic that although the government had said it would pay members what was due them at the end of the month, it had to discuss the issue with members before deciding whether or not to call off the strike.

Declaration

Teachers of the 46 colleges of education declared a strike on Tuesday, January 4, 2021, over the failure of the government to implement the 2017-2020 conditions of service as agreed.

It said CETAG and the government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on September 24, 2021 after reaching agreements on the 2017-2020 conditions of service for members of the association.

The said MoU stated that the effective date of implementation was January 2021, while the payment of associated arrears of nine months was to be paid in October, November and December 2021.

Mr Obeng-Himah said after the association’s announcement of a strike action, it was called to a meeting by representatives of the government during which it was asked to call off its action and given the assurance that whatever was due members would be paid at the end of the month.

The Accra meeting, he said, was attended by a Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Bright Wireko Brobbey; the Director-General of the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Mohammed Salifu, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Mr Ben Arthur, among other personalities.

Council

Mr Obeng-Himah said at CETAG’s Council Meeting last Tuesday night, the consensus was that it should adopt the bottom-up approach as it drew its powers from the rank and file of the association.

“So from the document, which emanated from the Accra meeting, which formed the basis of our conversation last Tuesday and all the decisions expressed by council members …we decided that we have to carry it down to members in the respective colleges,” he said.

At the meeting, Mr Obeng-Himah said members would look at the strike action and the legal implications of going ahead.