CETAG Threatens New Strike Over Unfulfilled Promises by Government

President of the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), Prince Obeng-Himah, has bemoaned the government's failure to deliver its promises and says that it is very evident that their grievances are not a priority to them. 

Speaking to Channel One News, Mr. Obeng-Himah revealed that although governmental institutions have intervened, there hasn’t been any solution to their problem. “So how can you explain to people that you went on strike and the office of the Vice President intervened and promised to resolve the issues?"

We went on strike, and the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations intervened. We went on strike, and the Minister of Education intervened and promised that we were going to resolve all the issues, pay the monies involved, and see to the migration by October,” he explained.

He further emphasized that the back-and-forth nature of the issue is upsetting the CETAG association members, and if the government continues to act uncommitted to their plight, the association will be forced to act. He elaborated, “As we speak now, nobody's telling anybody, you know, anything. It is clear that our issue cannot be prioritized by them. And as union members, we have leaders; we have the responsibility, particularly when we have this economy where it's biting on everybody.

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We want to stand with them and let them know that now that they've proven that they cannot prioritize our welfare, we are going to advise ourselves big time in such a manner that will shake the very fundamentals of the country, will shake the very fundamentals of teacher education like never before.”

Prince Obeng-Himah also stated firmly that if the government intends to leverage the upcoming elections to escape the situation, CETAG will not hesitate to go on another strike. “If anybody thinks election is approaching and they can play that game so that they go away, we also will prove that we are a force to reckon with. We know the strategies where they appear to be engaging us, so to create an impression that they are resolving the issues, we are fully prepared for them this time,” he warned.

CETAG went on strike two months ago, which interfered with the smooth running of colleges in Ghana. Now, they are promising that if their grievances are not swiftly addressed by the government, they will not hesitate to go on another strike.