The leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has declined the National Labour Commission's (NLC) invitation to discuss the ongoing strike declared by the association.
According to NAGRAT, they were not invited through the right medium.
Members of the association laid down their tools indefinitely last week to push for the payment of their salary arrears and delayed promotions.
The NLC’s Executive Secretary, Ofosu Asamoah, subsequently ordered NAGRAT, to appear before the commission on Wednesday, September 11 or face the consequence.
But, in an interview with Citi FM, NAGRAT President, Angel Carbonu called the bluff of the Executive Secretary of the NLC arguing that the Commission had no locus to haul the association before it.
READ ALSO : GES to meet NAGRAT over GH¢10 deductions for ‘compulsory’ insurance
“As far as I am concerned, I do not have any formal invitation. I have just heard that the Executive Secretary of the Labour Commission was passing judgment on the matter. I don’t think he is cloak with that authority on an issue that is not officially before them. In any case, he is an employee of the Labour Commission not the Commissioner so he cannot be passing judgment and at the same time purporting to be calling on people to come and appear before them on radio. We called for the strike over some issues and as we speak, the issues have not been resolved.â€
Strike
The National Association of Graduate Teachers, NAGRATlast week declared strike due to what they described as the inability of the Ghana Education Service, GES, and Public Services Commission to facilitate promotion for its members.
READ ALSO :Â Rescind directive recalling SHS students for vacation classes -Â NAGRATÂ to GES
According to NAGRAT, the failure of the Commission to amend their records has led to the delay in promotional interviews of most teachers.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Thursday September 5, President for NAGRAT Angel Carbonu said, "The service condition of the GES and indeed the public service grant that a teacher is elligible for interview after serving on his or her current rank for four years due to the myriad of problems bedevilling promotion in the GES, teachers have stayed on their ranks for more than five to six years without being invited for promotion interview, as a result of this a huge backlog has been created, it is a nightmare to be transfered or receive transfer in the GES these days, GES is unable to effect qenuine tranfer requests due to impediment placed on it staff by HRMIS of the Public Services Commission, this has brought untold pressure and hardship on teachers in the service, we call on the Public Service Commission to remove the obtacles it has placed in the path of the GES so that they can function, the leadership of NAGRAT can no longer fold arms and watch teachers suffer such pain and neglect, all teachers in schools that have already reopened should lay down their tools and stay out of the school premises those that are yet to reopened must stay out of the school..."
Come for deliberations or face us in court – NLC orders NAGRAT
Executive Secretary of the Commission, Ofosu Asamoah, who described NAGRAT’s strike as illegal, warned that if the leadership of the association fails to honour the invitation for deliberations, they could be charged for contempt.
He also argued that the association failed to follow due procedures before declaring the strike.
“They are engaging in an illegal strike. Strikes cannot be strictly outlawed. There can be a lawful strike and an illegal one. Parties to labour disputes can engage in strike but there are ways and means that they are expected to take to make it lawful but they didn’t comply with that. They had to give us notice and breakdown of the dispute but none of these was brought before the Commission. They will be ordered to go the classroom and do the work and take the proper steps if they want to declare a strike. If they fail to do that, they will be cited for contempt in court.“
Â