Teachers’ strike: Gov’t has shown no seriousness on Collective Agreement – GNAT

The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has accused the government of showing little seriousness in negotiations for a new Collective Agreement, saying the delay has contributed to the ongoing strike by teachers.

GNAT Head of Salaries, Isaac Baah, said the existing Collective Agreement expired in June 2026, but negotiations for its renewal have yet to make meaningful progress.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Monday, September 28, he said GNAT submitted its proposals for the review of the agreement in August 2025, but subsequent meetings had failed to produce the desired results.

“This collective agreement expired in June this year. Before then, we had submitted the proposal for negotiation last year, August. I remember I did the submission myself on 12th August.

“We have been meeting on this collective review, and we have not made any headway, because what government brings on the table is nothing to even discuss. So government is not showing any seriousness with regards to this collective agreement,” Mr Baah stated.

GNAT is expected to meet government on Tuesday to continue discussions specifically on the Collective Agreement.

Mr Baah said the union would use that meeting to assess the situation and determine its next steps, including its position on the ongoing strike.

He explained that the delay has also affected the payment of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Allowance, which forms part of the items under negotiation.

According to him, the allowance was expected to be paid in September every year, but the failure to conclude the new agreement has prevented the payment from being effected this year.

“One particular item that is in it, the Continuing Professional Development Allowance, was paid in September every year. But because we have not finished with the negotiation and government is dragging its feet and delaying the process, that has not been effected,” he said.

GNAT is among the teacher unions currently on an indefinite strike over outstanding concerns, including promotion-related arrears, the new Collective Agreement and the Deprived Area Allowance.