Teacher Unions Maintain Strike Despite New Gov’t Proposals, Set October 5 for consultations

Teacher unions have maintained their ongoing strike despite receiving new proposals from government aimed at resolving the issues that triggered the industrial action.

The unions are expected to return to their members on Monday, October 5, to present and discuss the proposals before taking a decision on whether to suspend the strike.

The development follows a meeting between the teacher unions and a government team led by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, as government intensifies efforts to restore teaching and learning in schools across the country.

The Education Minister said government had tabled proposals addressing three key concerns raised by the unions: payment of promotion arrears, implementation of the 20% deprived-area allowance and negotiations on the teachers’ expired conditions of service.

On promotion arrears, government has committed to honouring the new grades of promoted teachers by October 30, with payments covering arrears from January 2026.

The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department is also expected to validate data covering up to 51,000 teachers, after which a supplementary payment schedule will be prepared for that category.

Government has also maintained its commitment to implementing the 20% deprived-area allowance, although a framework is still required to determine qualifying areas and eligible teachers.

A committee involving representatives of the teacher unions and the Ghana Statistical Service has been tasked with validating the relevant data and developing a roadmap for implementation.

The unions have also been invited to resume negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission on Tuesday over their expired conditions of service.

Despite the latest proposals, the strike remains in force until the unions have consulted their members and taken a decision on the government’s offer.

Government has meanwhile appealed to the unions to consider calling off the strike, with the Education Minister expressing hope that normal academic work will resume next week.