Ghana government urges teachers to end nationwide strike — MyJoyOnline
The Ghanaian government has called on pre-tertiary education teachers' unions to end their nationwide strike while negotiations over their demands continue. Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu made the appeal after a meeting with union representatives in Accra, MyJoyOnline reports.
According to the minister, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission is due to meet with the unions on Tuesday to continue negotiations on the collective agreement and working conditions.
Union demands
The strike was declared by three organizations: the Ghana National Association of Teachers, the National Association of Graduate Teachers, and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana. They say the government has failed to resolve the issue of placing teachers who have been promoted into the appropriate salary grades, paying arrears, and other working conditions.
In a joint statement dated September 25, 2026, the unions listed among the main problems delays in concluding a new collective agreement, the failure to place promoted teachers on the appropriate salary scales, and the failure to implement an allowance for underserved rural areas. According to them, the previous collective agreement has already expired, while negotiations on a new one were supposed to be completed by June 2026.
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The unions also demand the automatic assignment of appropriate salary grades to teachers who passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026, as well as payment of arrears to them from January 2026.
Government promises
Iddrisu said the government had set up a committee to verify data related to the introduction of a 20% allowance for underserved rural areas. According to him, President Mahama's government intends to introduce it from January 2027, provided the data are verified and a roadmap is developed, with the unions participating in its preparation.
The minister also said that the head of the Ghana Education Service, together with the Controller and Accountant-General, must update data for calculating salaries under the new grades. This concerns nearly 80,000 teachers. The ministry already has data on approximately 29,000 people to calculate arrears, but September salaries have already been processed. According to Iddrisu, the Controller and Accountant-General are to make these payments in October.
