The leadership of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has expressed its willingness to discuss how to recover lost instructional hours following their two-month-long strike, which lasted from June 14 to August 20, 2024.
The strike was initiated in protest of the government’s failure to implement the agreed-upon conditions of service for CETAG members.
After successful negotiations with the National Labour Commission and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, CETAG called off the strike on Tuesday, August 20.
However, in an interview with Citi News, CETAG’s national president, Prince Obeng-Himah, emphasized that while the association is open to discussions on recovering lost time, the teachers will not agree to work beyond the usual class hours.
“Some time ago, when it happened, we were compelled to teach up to 9 pm, 10 pm, then we started teaching the following day at 5 am. We are not prepared to go along that tangent. We will teach normally.
“It was not through any fault of ours because it is on record that ours is the only legal strike that Ghana has seen where we have gone on strike for two solid months and the National Labour Commission has not been able to pronounce it illegal.
“They have failed in their attempt to secure court injunctions to stop us and all of that. So we did not fault in any way. So if we are looking at Ghana in the face to say that we have called it off, there is no way anybody should impose anything that will put our health and what have you under pressure.”