Members and leaders of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) remain steadfast despite their employers threatening to freeze their salaries.
In an interview with JoyNews, a member of CETAG’s national communications team, Fedilis Kamaayi, confirmed their determination to continue the strike, which has now lasted over six weeks, demanding improved conditions of service.
Mr Kamaayi noted that CETAG members anticipated that salary freezes might be used as a tactic to end the strike.
He emphasized that this threat has only strengthened their resolve.
“When the directive was issued, it has even motivated and gingered most of our tutors and they are saying that they should even take the August salary in addition because until all the arbitrary awards are implemented, they can go ahead and continue to freeze the salaries,” he said.
Mr. Kamaayi mentioned that the members are mentally prepared for the challenges ahead.
This comes after the Minister of Education instructed Principals and the Controller and Accountant General to withhold the July 2024 salaries of teaching staff from the 46 public colleges of education due to the ongoing strike.
The strike, which started on June 14, has significantly disrupted academic activities, leading to many students leaving campus.
When asked about the strike’s continuation, Mr. Kamaayi expressed optimism that the situation would be resolved soon.
“We have students in final year who have one more semester for them to complete and we have also started selling admission forms for new level 100s to be admitted. So, if you look at all these things, it will not augur well for the educational system in the country so our employer will not go there.”
Meanwhile, Professor Samuel Atintono, President of the Conference of Principals of the Colleges of Education, has stated that the salary freeze cannot be reversed.
“It was GTEC that wrote the letter not to validate the July salaries so not until GTEC writes again, we cannot reverse,” he said.