Concerned Citizens Urge Teacher Unions To Stand Their Ground As GNAT NAGRAT PRETAG Strike Enters Day Five
Story By: Deborah Adorsu
Some concerned citizens have waded into the ongoing nationwide strike by pre tertiary teacher unions calling on teachers to stand their ground and not call off the industrial action.
In their view, the government is not working for the benefit of teachers, hence their regret for voting the NDC administration into power to address their concerns.
Their comments come as teaching and learning remain disrupted in public basic and second cycle schools following the strike declared by the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG).
The three unions declared the strike effective Friday September 25 2026 over what they describe as prolonged delays and unfulfilled commitments by government.
In a joint statement the unions cited three main grievances including the delay in negotiating a new Collective Agreement to replace the expired one which should have been concluded by June 2026, the failure to automatically place newly promoted teachers who passed aptitude tests in December 2025 and February 2026 on their appropriate salary scales with arrears dating back to January 2026, and the non implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.
The Ghana Education Service GES has since been given a one week deadline to submit outstanding input forms and documentation required to process the salaries of the affected teachers while the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) is expected to meet the unions on October 6.
On Monday September 28 2026 Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu met the leadership of the unions in Accra and appealed to them to return to the classroom while negotiations continue.
The government says data for over 29,000 teachers has been captured with some reflected in the September payroll.
However the unions have rejected the appeal insisting they will remain on strike until the arrears reflect on their payslips and are credited to their accounts.