The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has lamented how poorly-paid teachers find it difficult to give upkeep money to their wives, and so have to always devise means to escape.
According to adomonline.com, the in-charge of salaries and conditions of service for GNAT, Isaac Baah, said this while justifying the ongoing strike action.
He disclosed that because the teachers, whose reward is said to be in heaven, are not in a good financial position to provide for their families, and are tired of giving excuses, they are left with no option but to run away to avoid embarrassment.
“Look at teachers; in order to run from providing daily chop money to their wives, they wait for their wives to enter the bathroom then they will run out from the house. Some also have to let their family go back to their villages, so it’s a serious situation and if the government doesn’t pay the 20%, it wouldn’t be easy,” he revealed, as quoted by the news website.
The government and some analysts have entreated the teachers to return to the classroom, saying that with the current economic challenges, which have necessitated going to the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, their demands, albeit legitimate, will be difficult to meet.
But Baah rubbished the claim, saying that the government has enough money to take care of the luxurious lifestyles of its members but doesn’t care about the poor teachers.
“The government has enough money. There is, hasn’t the government been providing fuel coupons for parliamentarians and ministers? Do we teachers receive some? There is money; the president has been traveling with chartered jets,” he stressed.
On Monday, July 4, the main teacher unions in the country declared a nationwide indefinite strike action to demand a 20 per cent Cost of Living Allowance (COLA).
The withdrawal of service was announced by the leadership of the unions in Accra on the above-mentioned date.
The General Secretaries of GNAT and NAGRA, Thomas Musah Tanko and Angel Carbonu, respectively, made the declaration, asking all teachers to abide by the collective decision to stay away from the classrooms until their demands are met by the government.
According to the unions, the government’s failure to address their demands continues to make life difficult for teachers in the face of economic hardship and paltry salaries.
