The Education Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, has urged the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) to give the government fourteen days to address their grievances.

In an interaction with the media on Tuesday, November 25, the Minister indicated that the government has already begun processes to resolve some of these issues, which trace back to 2022.

“We are negotiating. There were issues that the National Labour Commission made a declaration and award to CETAG that have not been respected by government since 2022. We are seeing how we can remedy the situation.We have also requested that they consider calling off the strike, and we have requested for two weeks to see what the state can do. But we will fix it within the two weeks,” he assured.

Currently, CETAG has laid down its tools nationwide over the government’s failure to fully implement the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) arbitral award issued on May 2, 2023. All 46 Colleges of Education across the country have been affected by the strike.

In June, Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson assured CETAG andother two unions in Ghana's tertiary education sector of receiving their allowances on time.

He made this known to the unions on Tuesday, June 10, when they met to discuss the disbursement of the Book and Research Allowance.

The meeting, which was prompted by a request from the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG), and the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG), aimed to address concerns over the payment of the allowance.

Dr Forson assured the union leaders that the allowance had been fully captured in the 2025 budget and that he had initiated the necessary processes to ensure its release.

"I assured them that the allowance has been fully captured in the 2025 Budget, and I have since initiated the necessary processes in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education to ensure its release," the sector minister shared on his X page.

He also commended the unions for their constructive proposal to establish a dedicated Labour Relations Desk within the Ministry of Finance, which would strengthen coordination and enhance dialogue between the ministry and labour stakeholders.

During the meeting, Dr Forson said he updated the union leaders on ongoing payroll reforms, particularly the audit being conducted by the Auditor-General.

He added that preliminary findings indicate a significant presence of ghost names on the payroll, which, if addressed, could yield substantial savings for the public purse.

Dr Forson urged the union leaders to lend their support to this important national exercise, emphasising that cleaning the payroll was not only about fiscal prudence but also about restoring integrity and fairness in public sector compensation.

In September, Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Nyarko Ampem has urged the coalition of unpaid teachers to exercise patience, assuring that the government has taken steps to address their grievances.

Addressing the aggrieved Newly Posted Teachers group on Tuesday, September 30, the Deputy Finance Minister disclosed that the government will include funds to settle their 13-month salary arrears in next year’s budget.

“I was a teacher, and I was posted to teach, and I was not paid for 8 months. I can relate perfectly well with all of you. The Finance Minister [Dr Ato Forson] says he sympathises with you, and he has briefed President John Dramani Mahama, and he has been given the green light to make sure he fixes your problem.

He added, “The Finance Minister will present the next budget, and he will make provision for all of you to be catered for; you should be very happy that your problem will be fixed; that is the good news. You will be paid.”

On Tuesday, September 30, the group, comprising graduates from Colleges of Education and universities, submitted a petition to the Finance Ministry calling on the government to clear debts owed to them.

The group had initially declared its intention to hit the streets over unpaid salaries on Tuesday, September 23. However, speaking to Citi News, the group’s Lead Convener, Simon Kofi Nartey, noted that the Ministry of Education and other relevant authorities had yet to respond to their earlier petitions, prompting them to reschedule the protest to September 30.

Simon Kofi Nartey called on the government to settle its 12-month and 8-month arrears within the given ultimatum. According to him, the group will have no option but to take to the streets if the government does not treat their demands with urgency.

“It is rather unfortunate that, as we speak, nothing has been done about the concerns we raised at our press conference. We have no option but to take to the streets to let Ghanaians know what is happening. We have already met with the Greater Accra Regional Police Command and agreed on September 30 for the demonstration,” he said.