After working for the Ghana Education Service (GES), a group identifying as the Coalition of Unpaid Teachers and Arrears – Ghana is requesting payment of their unpaid salaries.
The teachers claim that although they were given permanent government jobs in 2023, their unpaid salaries are the consequence of administrative delays for their employment agreement paperwork.
They assert that even though their employment was confirmed just five months ago, no steps have been taken to process their salary payments.
Over 4,000 teachers who work in basic and secondary schools are owed a variety of months’ worth of arrears, with a minimum of seven months and a high of sixteen months.
According to a statement from the association, many teachers nationwide who are owed months’ worth of arrears have had to cope with crippling financial hardships in order to make ends meet.
The group claims that since applying for a permanent job with the government in 2023, they have been burdened with unpaid wages for the months that they have worked.
Further on this story
The Ghana Education Service promised to pay all outstanding teacher wages and allowances in a message sent to all district-level directors on August 19, 2024.
To address the salary-related concerns, a technical committee was established.
Portions of the statement read: “We appreciate and relate to the plights of our affected staff due to the upsurge of salary-related issues and their adverse effects on productivity. In our quest to resolve these issues, Management, in collaboration with the Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has set up a Technical Working Team to expeditiously resolve all outstanding issues relating to Salary Re-activations, Responsibility Allowances, Salaries of New entrants, amongst”.
However, they have yet to receive their first salary payment in spite of the Director-General of the service’s guarantees.
The teachers and their families are facing severe financial repercussions as a result of the circumstance.
They predict that their well-being has been affected, which demoralizes them in carrying out their everyday duties as educators.
To expedite the payment procedure, the group has sent a formal letter to the GES Director-General.
They are threatening to take other measures to reclaim their unpaid salary by force unless the GES resolves their issues by November 18, 2024.
