The Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has instructed the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to withhold the July 2024 salaries of all teaching staff of the Colleges of Education (CETAG), excluding College Principals.
This decision comes in response to an ongoing strike by CETAG members, which began in June.
The strike is in protest against the government’s delay in implementing the arbitral award and negotiated service conditions. In a letter to the Accountant General’s Department dated Monday, July 22, GTEC stated,
“At the instance of the Minister of Education on the non-adherence of CETAG members to call off an illegal strike from June 2024, you are by this letter requested to stop the salaries of all teaching staff of the Colleges of Education (CETAG) except for the College Principals for July 2024,” the letter said.
The letter further instructed College Principals not to validate the July 2024 salaries of all teaching staff.
In response, the leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association has warned that it will resist any unlawful attempts to freeze members’ salaries. They have pledged to escalate their indefinite strike until the arbitral award and negotiated service conditions are implemented.
CETAG maintains that its strike is lawful and has accused the National Labour Commission of spreading misinformation about its actions.