Government addressed the striking teachers that until they call off their industrial strike action negotiations with them cannot take place.

The Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko Brobbey detailed that the labour law does not support negotiations to commence when strike is underway, therefore teachers must bring their action to an end.

After a meeting with the labour unions, he told the journalist that “we started engaging them, last Friday we met them and then we adjourned the meeting to today. You will recall that the Minister for Employment issued a statement and he appealed to them to call off the strike and for the government’s side to meet the entire organized labour because this was a matter that affected all labour unions, and so we were expecting that we will come here and the teacher union would have called off the strike because Section 161 of the labour law does not permit negotiations or engagements when one party is on strike or lookout”

” So before the commencement of the meeting the government had wanted to engage the teacher unions so that we see the way forward on the appeal we made to them Last Friday. Unfortunately, organized labour were in solidarity since they had all come, we should meet the at once”

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“They had a caucus meeting for some time and then we came back and unfortunately the teacher unioNs themselves had even stepped out. Government maintains that we want to meet them and start negotiations but we can’t do this because we are constraint under the law not to negotiate when one party is on strike and so organized labour suggested that we adjourn the meeting and do more talking for them to call off the strike and then we start negotiations. The call was to us from organized labour for us to adjourn for us to do”

The leadership of the teacher unions on strike walked out of the meeting purposed to discuss issues that resulted in the strike with the government officials.

Angel Carbonou and Thomas Musah, the President of National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and General Secretary of Ghana National Association of Teachers(GNAT) respectively disclosed to the journalist the agenda of government for calling off of strike before negotiations commence.

“I think what has happened today is very unfortunate. What we can say now is that our negotiation has come inconclusive and we are still on strike” Thomas Musah said.

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Mr Carbonou also added that ” they are indicating and asking us to call off our strike before negotiations begin. So it all means is that the government side is not ready to continue negotiation unless the teacher union call off the strike”.

The have held all organized labour unions hostage and this is a betrayal of trust because the understanding we had was that organized labour has been convened for us to find solutions to the issue of COLA. Right now, since we are undesirable, we think that before they even walk us out of the meeting, we were walking out of the meeting ourselves.”

Credit: www.pbpagez.com