Pre-tertiary teacher unions have warned the government against seeking further extensions to resolve outstanding issues that triggered their nationwide strike, insisting that their next engagement must result in the payment of arrears owed them.

The unions are scheduled to meet Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu on Monday, September 28, at 10:30am to discuss their concerns over unpaid entitlements and unresolved issues relating to their conditions of service.

Among the outstanding payments are deprived-area allowances and promotion arrears owed to teachers who have been promoted.

Communications Director of the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), Kingsley Anyimadu, said the unions have no new demands to present to government and are expecting the outstanding payments to be made.

“There are three major issues. Two of them are about payment, and we do not have any fresh issues to raise. All we are expecting and asking the government to do is to make the payments,” he said.

Mr Anyimadu said the deprived-area allowance had already been negotiated and teachers were assured that the payment would be made by the end of September, but that commitment had not been fulfilled.

“The first one is the Deprived Area Allowance. That one has been negotiated as we speak. That has not been done, and we were promised that it was going to be paid at the end of September. That has not been done,” he added.

He further disclosed that about 80,000 teachers who have received promotions are still awaiting their promotion arrears.

According to him, the unions held meetings with the Education Minister, the Controller and Accountant-General and the Finance Minister in August and September, during which they were assured that the outstanding payments would be settled by the end of September.

Mr Anyimadu said the unions were therefore unwilling to accept another request for more time.

“September has ended, salary has come, and it has not been paid. So what else do they want us to discuss? What else? Going to plead for more time,” he said.

He warned that any attempt by government to seek another extension could further deepen tensions with teachers.

“If they do and they make any attempt to plead for more time, that will be dangerous because teachers will never ever understand. No way. We’ve gone beyond meetings. We are now at the point of payment,” he stressed.

The meeting follows the decision by the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and PRETAG to embark on an immediate nationwide strike.

The unions cited unpaid promotion arrears, delays in the payment of deprived-area allowances and unresolved negotiations over their conditions of service among the issues behind the industrial action.