Obuasi, Oct. 25, GNA - Teachers in the Obuasi municipality have been commended for not participating in the recent nationwide protests and strike action by some members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT).

Mr Frank Osei-Kwarteng, Obuasi Municipal Secretary of the GNAT who gave the commendation, stressed: "I am commending teachers in the former Adansi West District for listening to the voice of the Association and refusing to go on strike".

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Obuasi, Mr Osei-Kwarteng appealed to teachers in other parts of the country who had not called off their strike to fully resume classes.

He appealed to teachers to always rely on the GNAT since there was a new labour act that regulated industrial actions and other workers' issues.

Mr Osei-Kwarteng said the GNAT was doing everything possible to resolve members' grievances with the appropriate agencies and that a better salary negotiation deal awaited teachers next year. "We are optimistic that GNAT will get a better deal in the next year's negotiation", he stressed and urged teachers to have trust in the leadership of the Association.

Mr Osei-Kwarteng said there was the need for teachers to keep themselves abreast with government policies and programmes and encouraged them to regularly contact the GNAT secretariats for information.

The Obuasi GNAT Secretary advised teachers to start planning towards their retirement to ensure a better deal for them. He urged teachers to start saving small portions of their salaries by joining co-operative credit unions and insurance policies. He further encouraged them to embrace the distance learning and on-campus programmes to improve upon their academic and professional qualifications.