The National Labor Commission (NLC) acted as a facilitator for the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) to announce their departure from negotiations with the government and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
This decision was made in response to reports that, 14 days into a CETAG strike, the government neglected to show up for a planned court appearance.
After multiple postponed meetings and the employer’s abandonment of conciliatory measures, the Association claimed that the employer’s willful disdain for their grievances is demonstrated by their absence from court.
The government’s unwillingness to appear in court disappointed Prince Obeng-Himah, President of CETAG.
“What it implies is that the employer did not go to court, let alone send any documentary proof of having complied with the court. So the NLC yesterday had practically nothing to give to us,” he said.
The association has therefore withdrawn from meeting with stakeholders, describing their absence as a deliberate attempt to disregard their concerns.
“It is a deliberate attempt to delay, and I think we don’t have to countenance it. They must also recognize that we are where we are because we spent over a year attempting to negotiate with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.
“We attended 28 solid meetings. We weren’t making any headway. We had to trigger compulsory arbitration so that the right to negotiate would be taken from the fair wages, and then the NLC set up neutral arbitrators.”
“So I am not sure there is any form of negotiation. Now if they are saying they won’t engage us, having exhibited this goodwill, having gone through the process, having waited for over a year,. Having watched the government defy the orders of the NLC for over a year, having watched the government fail to appear before a court of competent jurisdiction yesterday, what morality has anybody to tell CETAG they are being unlawful or recalcitrant?”