Withhold July salaries for striking CETAG members — GTEC urges GAGD

The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has written to the Controller and Accountant General's Department requesting it to stop the payment of salaries to teaching staff at Colleges of Education in July.

In a letter dated July 22, GTEC Head of IPPD Nicholas Ameyaw asked the Director of Payroll to withhold the salaries of all teaching staff under the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), except for College Principals, for the month of July.

"At the instance of the Minister of Education on the non-adherence of CETAG members to call off an illegal strike from June 2024, you are...requested to stop the salaries of all teaching staff of the Colleges of Education...for July 2024," the letter read in part.

On June 14, teachers in the various colleges of education laid down their tools, demanding better working conditions and remuneration packages.

This was in response to the government’s delay in implementing the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) Arbitral Award Orders and negotiated service conditions.

CETAG's demands include the payment of one month’s salary to each member for additional duties performed in 2022, and the application of agreed rates of allowances payable to public universities to deserving CETAG members.

However, authorities considered the strike illegal and cited this reason for withholding salaries from the striking teachers.

They deemed the industrial action to be in contravention of proper procedures.