FWSC Invites Striking Teachers For Negotiations

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) has invited the representatives of striking teachers in the country to a negotiation meeting.

The teachers, among other things, declared an indefinite strike over their Conditions of Service (CoS) on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, during a press conference.

The unions lamented about the delay in drafting a new Collective Agreement following the expiration of the previous one in 2023.

They posited that negotiations for a new Collective Agreement should have been drafted on or before February 29, 2024, which has been the opposite.

“Thus, the new Collective Agreement stands un-negotiated, and we raised this concern in our letter to the Director General, GES, dated 29th February 2024, and also informed the National Labour Commission (NLC),” the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) said as they directed their members across the country to lay down their tools.

Following this, the FWSC issued a statement inviting the GNAT to a meeting on March 21, 2024.

“Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) respectfully invites the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the under-listed stakeholders to a meeting.”

The meeting is expected to take place at the Conference room of the Ministry of Education in Accra and cover negotiation.

Other concerns raised for the strike action included a non-functional Scheme of Service for Teachers, delay in the distribution of the teachers’ laptops, rampant changes of the school calendar without recourse to teachers and the blockage of teachers’ salaries by the Office of Special Prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has called for calm amid the strike action.