GES should be responsible for any industrial action - TEWU

Ho, March 26, GNA- Members of the Ho District branch of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of the Ghana Education Service (GES) on Friday said management of the GES should hold itself responsible for any industrial action over delays in correcting distortions in the salary scales of its members.

The Union said the distortions, which had affected morale of members must be corrected immediately to avoid work stoppages by its members throughout the country.

Briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA) just before a protest march in the forecourt of the Regional Directorate of the GES in Ho, Mr John Agbley, Volta Regional Industrial Relations Officer, TEWU, said the distortions were as a result of the efforts to rationalise salaries under the Ghana Universal Salary Structure (GUSS).

He said that the report omitted several grades within the GES as a result of which haphazard placements and scales now being used had made some junior officers to draw more pay than their senior colleagues. Mr Agbley said progress of efforts to have the problem addressed since 2001 had been slow because of the un-commitment of the management of the GES, which should have tackled the problem as part of its management function without prompting.

He said a short industrial action in July, last year, was called off when management gave a promise to address the issue but had done little in that direction so far.

Mr Agbley said, the protests, which are going on throughout the country today could culminate into a national strike if the problem is not addressed.

Meanwhile all members of TEWU, GES branch all over the country are to put on red bands from next Monday.