Teachers Strike Over Unpaid Arrears

The Ministry of Education will sit down with Ghana’s three teacher unions, today Monday September 28, in a bid to end a nationwide strike that began on Friday over unpaid promotion arrears and a stalled collective agreement.

The unions — the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG) — announced the industrial action after giving the government until midday on 24 September 2026 to settle their concerns.

Hasmin Mohammed, Press Secretary and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said the Minister would lead Monday’s engagement in an effort to get teachers back into the classroom.

“I’ve just had information from the honourable Minister that we intend to meet them on Monday to continue to pursue them to call off the strike,” he said.

Mr Mohammed said the dispute goes beyond the Education Ministry, since resolving it requires the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department.

He said Monday’s meeting would give those institutions and the unions a direct platform to work through the issues.

What the unions are asking for

In a joint statement issued on Friday, the unions outlined three main grievances:

Delays in negotiating a new Collective Agreement. The current agreement has expired, and talks that should have concluded by June 2026 are still outstanding.

Failure to automatically place newly promoted teachers on the correct salary scales.

The unions are also demanding that teachers who passed promotion examinations in December 2025 and February 2026 be placed on their proper salary scales, with arrears paid from January 2026.

They said the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission had been approached repeatedly about the matter without a resolution.

“Given the delays, unfulfilled promises on the part of the duty bearers and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, as well as threats by the rank-and-file of our members, we, the teacher unions, do stand with our members and hereby declare a nationwide industrial action,” the statement said.

Mr Mohammed said the Ministry was “deeply worried” about the effect of the strike on the academic calendar.

He noted that significant work had gone into restoring a normal schedule after earlier disruptions, with pupils from kindergarten through to university now reporting in September. He warned that a prolonged strike could undo that progress.

The strike is the latest standoff between the government and teacher unions over pay and conditions, and Monday’s meeting is seen as a key test of whether the academic term can be kept on track.