Our attention has been drawn to a portion of the president’s speech at the Eid celebration pleading for teachers to return to work with reference to the need for everyone to sacrifice because we aren’t in normal time. The president in his speech made it known what they have done as a sacrifice to the situation of the country; slashing 30% from their salaries, a 50% slash off on fuel coupons and reductions in other expenditures.
We are laying it straight to the president that, his references provoke us the more and keep adding petrol to the burning fire. Hence, advising him and his appointees to check their words on teachers. We can’t take them anymore.
We are making this point based on the following analysis of the president’s statement:
- What incremental percentage was given to the article 71 holder for the period against civil workers? Was it not some 70+% vs 4% & 7%? Just imagine the wide gap. What sacrifice does it make if the president turns around to call a 30% slash off (alleged) of their 170+% salary? Don’t they still keep a 40% increment to their existing salaries? Why wouldn’t the president have initiated the slash-off before increment so that their 30% slash could be relevant? Does he think should teachers have been given a 40% increment, we would have gotten to this point by the day?
- How many article 71 holders are dependent on their salaries for their daily living? Not even for their establishments. Mr President, you sound as if you are ruling kids who do not have the brains to go around the world to know what is happening around them. We are fully aware of other benefits that come with being in that category of workers. Even children of today yearn to be in your positions because the kids could differ the milk surrounding the positions you hold against other jobs some citizens find themselves in.
Why have you not mentioned a slashed or complete eradication of other benefits you people get in awarding contracts and winning contracts? We can say on authority that no minster would dare to resign even if we choose not to pay them monthly salaries because what they gain outside their salaries is worth bigger than their actual salaries. We are not kids to be fooled.
- Why fuel coupons to the higher salary earners despite what you call a slash? Do they not have what it takes them to pay for the fuel for their rounds? Then they might be wasteful if a teacher pays for all cost of transportation to work every day among several workshops. Or it’s because they are serving the nation more than others? We are sorry Mr President for hearing such statements from you as a justifier for leadership by example. Your examples indicated, seem more tricky than reality. Have they evacuated their mansions or bungalows to be offered to those on our streets to serve as real sacrifices? How is the work of the article 71 holders different and important than the work of the farmers, teachers, nurses and the likes for them to deserve all these forms of monetary motivations, when we teachers are sent to the most remote villages where there are no accommodation, no health facility, no security, no potable water, bad roads all over, walking and sharing the room with snakes and scorpions without any single allowance, not even against the risk we take? What is the work of the council of state to be compared to the hard-pressed responsibilities of the classroom teachers each day? We guess the president has no knowledge of what it takes to be a teacher in Ghana, he wouldn’t be making such comments at all.
- Who proves the reality in the slashing of their salaries which the president preaches each day? When was the last time the president showed his payslip as proof of his gospel? We guess, the president and his appointees lack an understanding of transparency and equality.
In conclusion, the Coalition of Aggrieved Teacher Union members wants to take this opportunity to re-eco their warnings against the teacher union leadership not to be lured with or by any of these excuses given by the authorities nor any attempt to wet their hands to get them compromised. We are wise now and so we hope to see them as our leaders, proving their wisdom.
Any decision to call back to work our members on the basis of just a mere plead or on the basis of any shallow negotiations would result in an uncontrollable situation in the profession. Yes, it is high time our relevance as teachers be felt and reflected in our standard of living. We can no longer be borrowing just for our daily meals, no more loans being our main sources for establishments, we also deserve better.
And should the government together with the union leaders might have forgotten, we are reminding them ahead of time on what percentage they hope to introduce for the 2023 annual salary increment; implementation of various allowances that deserve teachers; provision of resources and comfortable structures for the work; and above all, effectiveness in delivery by the teacher unions to the advantage of the teachers.
We are solidly ready and prepared to kick against any useless, unprofitable and unproductive decisions made on the above points as far as our work poses several risks to our lives just as others think theirs are. We wish this notice would find the president well to retract his comments against teachers and advice NLC to do just the needful and not to talk about negotiations. When he heard that we have been served 4 and 7%, he was quiet to NLC. Oh ok, if the president believes that NLC is the best institution to decide on salaries, then we hope to see the president and his appointees including all other working sectors coming under NLC for the next year’s salary decisions. Their failure to do so renders all their sacrificial gospels deceptive a d trickish. They wouldn’t be taken by their words onward.
Script by
Leaders of Coalition of Aggrieved teacher union members
Below is the statement released by the Coalition of Aggrieved teacher Union
Source: Constechz.com