Labour Minister Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum says the government is optimistic that ongoing negotiations with striking teacher unions will yield a breakthrough, ruling out the need for alternative measures to get teachers back to the classroom.
He gave the assurance after an emergency meeting with representatives of the three unions on October 9, as efforts continue to resolve the dispute over unpaid promotion arrears, conditions of service and other outstanding employment issues.
The indefinite strike, which began on September 25, has disrupted academic activities in public pre-tertiary schools, prompting renewed engagements between the government and the unions.
Speaking to the media after Friday’s meeting, Mr Agyekum described the discussions as encouraging and said he expected an agreement to be reached before the end of the day.
“We’ve just finished with the teacher unions. It’s been a very positive meeting, and I strongly believe that by the close of the day we should be able to have a solution to this industrial action,” he said.
He explained that the negotiations focused on three main areas: the Collective Agreement, concerns relating to teachers’ promotions and the payment of deprived-area allowances.
According to the Minister, the parties had extensively discussed the outstanding matters, raising hopes of finding common ground to bring the industrial action to an end.
Mr Agyekum also dismissed suggestions that the government might consider other measures to compel teachers to resume work if the talks failed.
He said the progress made during the engagement gave him confidence that the dispute could be settled through dialogue rather than more forceful interventions.
“Positively, we’ll hear something by the close of today,” he added.
The three teacher unions began the industrial action on Friday, September 25, after the government failed to resolve their concerns by a September 24 deadline.
Their demands include the payment of arrears arising from promotions, progress on negotiations for a new Collective Agreement and the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.
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