TEWU serves notice of strike despite Asantehene’s appeal
Despite Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s plea for unions to use dialogue to resolve their concerns and not strike, members of the Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) have defied his advice as they served notice of the withdrawal of their services from Wednesday, January 5, 2022.
The over 35,000 members say they are withdrawing their services to demand their 600 cedis professional development allowance.
General Secretary of the Union, Mark Denkyira Korankye at a news conference in Accra on Tuesday, January 4, 2021
explained that, “though schools are re-opening tomorrow [Wednesday, January 5, 2021], there will not be caterers to cook for the students”.
“We went to the Ministry of Education, we have written and given all the justifications that are required.
“The Minister said we should liaise with the Ghana Education Service management, we have engaged them. In fact, in the wisdom of the management of GES, they said let us put together a technical committee to look at the issues and give appropriate recommendations.
“This was supposed to have been complete in September last year. We are in January 2022, the committee has not even met let alone to make a recommendation for its consideration. So we feel that these feet dragging is on purpose maybe to deny our members of this right and that is why we think that we must push and move to the next step where that one will compel management to sit and conclude any discussion with us on this matter.”
The Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II while addressing members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) at their 6th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference, earlier this week urged teachers and Unions to adopt an improved way of negotiation rather than resorting to strike whenever their concerns are not addressed.
He explained that “school children are the ones who face the consequences of such actions and not politicians”.
Those many workers and labour unions believe the only language the government understands is strike, the Asantehene thinks differently with his focus on those who suffer the real pain of the actions of the teachers or labour unions.
“Obviously, those who really suffer are the innocent children. I urge you all to focus your minds on the need for an improved way for negotiations and consultations which will minimize, if not eliminate, any recourse to industrial action and the harmful consequences on our children.”He also urged policymakers to work to ensure that the conditions of teachers are improved.
“While we will always urge moderation in the face of the national economic realities, we will nonetheless, urge policymakers to ensure that the status of our teachers truly reflect the level of importance we attach to their place in society,” he said.
TEWU’s General Secretary while acknowledging the Asantehene’s plea noted that “Otumfuo righty appealed that dialogue and consensus-building are what we need. We have given all these opportunities. We wrote to GES, they responded and invited us to a meeting. They said let’s form a technical committee and it has taken already four months without the first meeting. We think that if we don’t take the necessary steps our members right will be trampled upon and it is not right to do so so that is why we have come to this end.”
Source: Richard Mensah Adonu | Join our Telegram Group
