President Akufo-Addo has made a passionate appeal to teachers at the basic and high school levels of education to end their sit-down strike.
He believes that would make better room for effective negotiations between the teacher unions and the government over their demand for certain allowances.
The teachers began the strike on Monday, July 4, 2022, after their unions said the government has failed to meet their 30 June deadline to pay members between 20% and 30% of their salaries as Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).
The four teacher unions that have declared an indefinite strike include the Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers, Coalition of Concerned Teachers, Ghana, and the Teachers and Educational Workers Union.
But speaking at a Muslim prayer event to mark this year’s celebration of Eid-ul-Adha at the Independence Square today, the President said “I want to add my voice to the appeal by the outstanding Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, the Honourable Ignatius Baffour Awuah, for the teachers to return to the classrooms pending the outcome of these negotiations so that that education of our children, some of whom are preparing to sit their final exams, is not affected.”
He was hopeful that the ongoing negotiations will yield positive results.
“I am happy that yesterday, the teachers were joined by other members of organized labour under the umbrella of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) to sit down with the government, led by the Ministers for Employment and Labour Relations and Education to begin negotiations on this matter”, he noted with appreciation.
For now, he said all Ghanaians are “going to have to make some sacrifices to afford” the nation “space to navigate the trouble waters of the current economic difficulties.”
In the case of government, the President said discretional expenditures of ministries, departments, and agencies have been cut by 30% whilst the salaries of all political appointees including himself, have been reduced by 30%.
Meanwhile, fuel coupon allocations to key government officials have also been slashed by 50% and other expenditures suspended.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
