Education Ministry meets Teacher Unions today to end nationwide strike
The Ministry of Education is set to meet leaders of Ghana’s three pre-tertiary teacher unions today, Monday, September 28, 2026, as the government intensifies efforts to end the nationwide strike declared last Friday.
The meeting, to be chaired by Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, will bring together the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), alongside the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD).
The unions declared the industrial action on Friday, September 25, 2026, after a September 24 deadline elapsed without resolution of their demands. In a joint statement, they cited prolonged delays, unfulfilled commitments and growing frustration over issues affecting teachers.
Key among the concerns are unpaid promotion arrears, the delayed negotiation of a new Collective Agreement, and the implementation of the Deprived Area Allowance.
The unions say negotiations for a new Collective Agreement should have been completed by June 2026 following the expiration of the existing agreement, but remain unresolved. They are also demanding the automatic placement of teachers who passed promotion aptitude tests in December 2025 and February 2026 onto their appropriate salary scales, with arrears effective January 2026.
Press Secretary to the Education Ministry, Hasmin Mohammed, told the Ghana News Agency that the Minister will use today’s meeting to engage the unions and relevant institutions directly to resolve the impasse and persuade the unions to call off the strike.
He said the Ministry is deeply concerned about the potential impact of the strike on the academic calendar, noting that strenuous efforts had been made to restore normalcy with pupils and students from kindergarten to university reporting to school in September.
The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department has, however, stated that it has processed and paid all 6,079 promotion cases submitted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) as at September 22, 2026, including arrears, as part of September salaries. CAGD maintains that outstanding payments relate to cases for which GES is yet to submit the requisite documentation for validation.
NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba has said the unions remain ready to engage government if today’s meeting offers a genuine opportunity to resolve the issues.
The outcome of today’s talks is expected to be critical to determining whether the strike will be called off or escalated.
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