Members of the coalition of newly recruited graduate teachers are threatening to embark on a nationwide strike against the government over nonpayment of their salaries and arrears.
In a press statement sighted by OTECfmonline.com, the group which has a membership of about Two Thousand, three hundred and ninety-four (2,394) who were employed in September last year by the then ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) to fill vacancies that had been created in the various Senior High Schools across the country to teach Mathematics and Science to improve academic performance in all second cycle institutions.
According to the aggrieved teachers, several avenues had been used to echo their complaints but to no avail even though they had been cleared by the ministry of finance. The group is, however, warning the Government, Ghana Education Service (GES) and other stakeholders to attend to their complaints else withdraw their services by end of December.
Copy of their statement.
COALITION OF NEWLY RECRUITED GRADUATE TEACHERS 19th November, 2017.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL OF SERVICES OVER NON-PAYMENT OF SALARY ARREARS
We, the members of the Coalition of Newly Recruited Graduate Teachers, wish to send a clear notice to all and sundry of our intention to withdraw our services by the end of December 2017.
This has become necessary following the deliberate attempts by the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the Controller and Accountants Generals’ Department to deny us our six-month salary arrears for which we have legitimately worked. There is no justifiable reason behind the non-payment of our salary arrears as a financial clearance was granted by the Ministry of Finance five clear months prior to our recruitment. And by the financial clearance, the Ministry of Finance had allocated funds for the payment of our salaries.
Following the payment of one month salary out of six months of legitimate service in imparting knowledge, we petitioned the Minister of Education to intervene so that we could be paid all our salary arrears. Two letters dated 3rd April, 2017 and 1st May 2017 were sent to the Honorable Minister but nothing positive has come out of these petitions so far. The minister and his outfit failed to acknowledge receipt of our letters let alone respond to same. A section of our membership met the then Acting but now Director General of GES on the 22nd of May, 2017. The DG of GES assured us of payment of all arrears by the end of May 2017. Though payment was made in the month of May 2017, not more than 10 percent of the 2400 Science, Mathematics, English and Geography graduate teachers received payment of salary arrears. This payment did not even cover the six months of services we rendered as teachers.
We have had enough of the deception, chicanery and failed promises of GES and by extension government. We are by this release calling on all stakeholders of education in this country to respond to our plight by paying us all our salary arrears latest by the end of December, 2017. Failure on the part of stakeholders to heed this call will compel us to withdraw our services till government pays us all our salary arrears.
……SIGNED……
Rasheed Abrahamani 0543900863
Charles C. Chetu 0502856100
Elvis Kwame Baah. 0241788101
Kwaku Owusu 0247408935
Cc: ALL MEDIA HOUSES
Source: otecfmghana.com/ Evans Agyei Sikapa