After weeks of negotiations, the government has agreed to pay Book and Research allowance, as well as market premium, to teachers in the Colleges of Education.
While the payment of the book and research allowance would start in September this year, the payment of the market with arrears will be effected between January and April 2020.
It is part of an agreement reached between the government and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG).
The new roadmap agreement is aimed at addressing agitations of the teachers over nonpayment of the allowances, which has resulted in a series of strike action that led to the closure of Colleges of Education nationwide.
The National Secretary for CETAG, Nathan Ohene-Gyan told ADR Daily that although the government was not able to meet most of the demands by CETAG during at the negotiation, “we have agree as an association to accept the agreement over the payment of the book and research allowance.”
“We initially tabled some form of arrangement but government said they were a bit challenged to go by what we were suggesting. We agreed on a few parameters although we are not completely happy about it, but it is something we can hold on for the meantime as we move on,” he said.
CETAG in February this year, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government following negotiations with Fair Wages and Salary Commission and the National Council for Tertiary Education in Accra, bringing to an end a protracted dispute that lingered for months, disrupting the academic calendar of the teacher training colleges in the country.
Benjamin Nana Appiah/www.adrdaily.com
