Teacher unions in Koforidua stage demonstration over outstanding allowances
Teacher-teacher unions in Koforidua took to the streets on Monday, May 15, to demand the payment of four outstanding allowances.
These allowances include the deprived area allowance, extra assessment, book/data/online and teaching support, and an upward adjustment on CPD allowances.
Clad in red and black attire, members of teacher unions such as the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana (CCT-GH) demonstrated with fervor, expressing their grievances through chants and placards.
Their placards bore messages such as “Treat teachers with dignity”, “Teachers are losing trust in government”, “Teachers also deserve allowances”, “Cost of electricity is killing us”, and “Treat teachers with decency”, among others.
This demonstration follows a press conference held by the teacher unions a week prior, where they called out the government for its failure to honour allowances agreed upon in collective agreements dating back to 2009 and 2020.
Patrick Boison, the Eastern Regional Chairman of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, emphasised that teacher unions nationwide are committed to advocating for the prioritization of teachers’ welfare.
He reiterated that they will not relent until the government addresses their concerns and fulfills its obligations to teachers as stipulated in the collective agreements.
“Teachers are only asking for four allowances out of the seventeen allowances because we understand the situation that the government is in but it cannot also go without the government doing anything about our demands.
“Teachers are the most employable people on government payroll, and we are found in every nook and cranny of this country and if our members have taken the challenge to be there, they must be compensated. Apart from that, we are also asking for assessment allowance, and book/data/online allowances,” he said.
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