The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has given the Ghana Educational Service (GES) up to the end of August, to refund all monies illegally deducted from teachers’ salaries as part of the GES-SIC Life policy.
Describing the GH¢ 10 compulsory deduction of premium from teachers as illegal and an attempt to bully teachers, NAGRAT has threatened to embark on a strike from September 1, 2019, should the GES fail to refund the monies.
Speaking to journalists during a press conference in Accra, the president of NAGRAT, Angel Carbonu expressed the group’s disappointment at the insensitive and heavy-handed approach by which the management of GES is handling the GES-SIC life policy issue.
“The unyielding desire of management to impose an insurance policy on staff without taking their concerns creates suspicion as to the real intentions of the policy. Even though the teacher unions have made it clear that such a policy should be optional for interested teachers to apply, GES management thinks otherwise,” he said.
With the call to suspend the ongoing implementation of the new GES-SIC Life policy, NAGRAT now joins other teacher groups including the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana to oppose the GH¢ 10 deduction.
The new policy which was introduced last year, but launched in June this year by the GES in partnership with SIC Life Insurance, makes it mandatory for a deduction of GH¢ 10 to be made from teachers’ salaries at source without their consent.
According to GES officials, under the policy between GH¢9,000 and GH¢18,000 will be paid out to a member who suffers critical illness, including cancers, heart attack, kidney failure, loss of sight, stroke and permanent disability sustained as a result of an accident or an illness.
Benjamin Nana Appiah/www.adrdaily.com
