The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), Thomas Tanko Musah, has called on the government to authorise the Controller and Accountant-General's Department to pay teachers who have been promoted their appropriate salaries. This comes after the teacher unions were given assurances during negotiations that promoted teachers would not be required to submit additional documents before their salary adjustments were effected. However, this assurance has yet to be implemented.
According to Tanko Musah, once the government has authorised the payment of the appropriate salaries, it has a responsibility to ensure that the funds are released to the affected teachers. He argued that the government, as the employer, owes a duty of care to its employees to ensure they receive their correct salaries. The GNAT General Secretary made these comments during an interview on TV3's Hot Issues on Sunday, October 4, 2026.
The teacher unions, including GNAT, the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and PRETAG, have been engaged in a nationwide strike since Friday, September 25, 2026. Their concerns include the failure to automatically place promoted teachers on their correct salary levels, delays in processing salary arrears and adjustments for affected teachers, and the non-implementation of the 20% Deprived Area Allowance and expired conditions of service/collective agreements.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu and Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson have urged the unions to call off the industrial action, committing to resolve promotion allowances and schedule further negotiations with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC). However, the unions remain adamant, instructing members to stay off until new salaries and arrears have been paid.
Tanko Musah stressed that teachers are employees of the government and not the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, which only handles the payment of their salaries on behalf of the state. He maintained that the unions' dispute is therefore with the government over the implementation of the agreed salary payments to newly promoted teachers, rather than with the Controller and Accountant-General.
The GNAT General Secretary expressed frustration that the government had not implemented the agreed-upon measures, despite assurances given during negotiations. He stated that the unions did not work for the Controller and Accountant-General's Department, but rather for the government, which had decided that their salaries should be processed through the Department.
The ongoing strike by pre-tertiary teacher unions in Ghana has significant implications for the education sector. With the government and unions yet to reach a resolution, it remains to be seen how the situation will be resolved and what impact it will have on the affected teachers and the education system as a whole.
Key points
- The Ghanaian government is under pressure to authorise the Controller and Accountant-General's Department to pay newly promoted teachers their correct salaries.
- Teacher unions in Ghana have been on a nationwide strike since September 25, 2026, over issues including salary payments and allowances.
- The strike has significant implications for the education sector in Ghana, with the government and unions yet to reach a resolution.
