The Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), has urged government to honour its promises to education sector workers to ensure industrial harmony this year.
It reminded the government of pending issues including conditions of service negotiations for the public and technical universities, polytechnic and colleges of education; migration to appropriate grades under the Single Spine Salary Structure, and promotions.
“TEWU therefore calls on agencies like the Ministries of Education, Finance, Employment and Labour Relations, as well as Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, not to drag their feet on workers concerns, but adopt proactive consensus approach and negotiate in good faith, in order to help diffuse the tension of strikes by other labour unions and associations,” it said.
This was contained in a statement signed and issued in Accra on Tuesday by Mark Dankyira Korankye, Acting General Secretary of TEWU.
It reminded the government that last year, there were moves to declare series of nationwide strikes to press home demands of the non-teaching staff in educational institutions, but the relevant stakeholders initiated dialogues in good faith to avert their actions.
“TEWU hopes such proactive steps will continue in this New Year, 2020, so that the union will not be compelled to activate its processes to embark on industrial actions,” it said.
The statement lauded the GES for ongoing efforts to resolve the payment of Critical Support to the remaining classes of TEWU members under GES and hoped that the other stakeholders would fast track the necessary processes so that the remaining classes of TEWU members who are also qualified to enjoy the Critical Support will benefit from it soonest.
The Critical Support is paid to a section of Ghanaian workers for the peculiar nature of their jobs. According to the statement only 10 out of the more than 22 classes of TEWU members were receiving the allowance.
The statement expressed worry about the health conditions of the kitchen staff in some schools that use fuel wood to cook and advocated the use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cooking facilities to save their health and enhance their work.
“TEWU is therefore appealing to government and other philanthropists, as a matter of urgency, to make the necessary interventions to improve infrastructure in our educational institutions, especially, in deprived rural communities and peri-urban areas,” it said.
On Election 2020, the statement urged political actors protesting the compilation of a new voter register to be decorous in their submissions while the Electoral Commission should give room for consensus building.
“The democratic achievements since returning to constitutional rule in 1993 did not come on silver palter. TEWU is charging all Ghanaians to wear our patriotic hats and avoid anything that will degenerate into violence that can mar the December 2020 elections,” it said.
BY TIMES REPORTER
