Teachers’ strike: We won’t return to classroom until demands are resolved – NAGRAT

Jacob Anaba, the President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), has announced that members of the organization will not resume classroom duties until the government reaches a mutually beneficial agreement on their pressing concerns. The strike was initiated on October 25, addressing three primary issues: the expiration of their collective agreement, the deprivation of an area allowance, and teacher promotion challenges.

Although NAGRAT has engaged in discussions with the government on these matters, the talks have so far not yielded a resolution that the teachers deem acceptable. Mr Anaba made these remarks during an interview on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen, lamenting that a meeting with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission also ended without a consensus.

Both sides presented their proposals during the meeting; NAGRAT subsequently offered a counter-proposal, leading the commission to state they would seek further instructions before engaging in further dialogue. The union is now awaiting an invitation from the government for additional negotiations to resolve these outstanding issues.

Mr Anaba emphasized that the teachers will remain in strike mode until a comprehensive, final agreement is reached. He also pointed out that teacher promotions had been conducted smoothly prior to the NDC government's return to power, but this has changed since.