Ashanti Teachers Reject Government Promises

Striking teachers in the Ashanti Region have rejected further promises from the government over their outstanding promotion-related salary arrears, insisting that only evidence of actual payment will convince them to return to the classroom.

The Ashanti Regional Secretariats of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) have consequently thrown their weight behind the ongoing nationwide industrial action.

The three unions have given the government until October 16, 2026 to provide verifiable evidence that affected teachers have been paid their outstanding promotion-related salary arrears.

They warned that promises, assurances or fresh deadlines would not be accepted as a basis for calling off the strike.

The unions said the industrial action, which commenced on September 25, followed prolonged engagements with the government, missed deadlines and unfulfilled commitments.

In a statement issued in Kumasi yesterday, the unions said teachers had remained committed to Ghana’s education system despite difficult working conditions and therefore deserved fairness, respect and concrete action from the government.

The statement was read by the Ashanti Regional Secretary of GNAT, Daniel Kwaku Atakora.

Three Key Issues

The unions identified three principal concerns that must be addressed: the automatic placement of promoted teachers, a new Collective Agreement and the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.

They demanded the immediate placement of all duly promoted teachers, including those who passed the December 2025 and February 2026 promotion examinations, on their appropriate salary grades.

They also demanded payment of the corresponding arrears from January 2026, stressing that teachers had already conceded some months of the arrears.

“Promotion must not remain a promise without implementation,” the unions stated.

On the Collective Agreement, they said the existing agreement had expired, while negotiations for a new one, which were expected to have been concluded by June 2026, remained unresolved.

The unions accused the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) of adopting an “intransigent posture” and demanded a clear, credible and time-bound roadmap for concluding and implementing the new agreement.

They also insisted on the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance, saying it was necessary to attract and retain teachers in deprived, rural and underserved communities.

‘Teachers Are Human’

The unions also expressed concern about excessive workloads and what they described as growing neglect of teachers’ welfare and professional dignity.

They noted that teachers performed several duties outside classroom teaching, including lesson preparation, assessment, reporting, meetings, training, administrative work, learner support and engagement with parents.

“Teachers are human beings before they are professionals,” they stressed.

They called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) and teacher unions to review workloads, eliminate duplicate reporting and reduce unnecessary administrative demands.

They also demanded accessible and confidential counselling and referral services for teachers and training for school leaders to identify signs of distress.

Mahama Called In

The unions called on President John Dramani Mahama to intervene decisively in the matter.

They alleged that the GES and FWSC had repeatedly failed to comply with presidential directives concerning the issues and urged the President to ensure that his directives were implemented.

The unions said the Ministry of Education, GES, FWSC and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department must provide a transparent and coordinated account of teacher placements and payments for affected teachers to cross-check against their records.

They said recent engagements with the government were welcome but insisted that teachers now wanted implementation rather than more assurances.

Strike Continues

The Ashanti Regional Secretariats, which said they represented about 40 per cent of Ghana’s teaching population, urged members to remain calm, disciplined and united while following directives from the national leadership.

They acknowledged the disruption the strike was causing learners, parents and guardians but maintained that the action was not an abandonment of duty.

They also appealed to parents and the public to respect teachers and address legitimate concerns about misconduct through proper channels.

The unions, however, maintained that they would not accept further promises as grounds for ending the strike.

They insisted that October 16 remained the deadline for the government to provide verifiable evidence of payment of the outstanding promotion-related arrears.

“Promises alone will not suffice,” the unions warned.

They said they would continue to support the industrial action until the outstanding issues were satisfactorily resolved and the national leadership directed otherwise.