Regional News of Wednesday, 5 November 2008

Source: GNA

Sekyere East Teachers Threaten to embark on strike

Effiduase (Ash), Nov.5, GNA- More than two hundred teachers in the Sekyere East District of Ashanti Region have threatened to embark on a sit down strike if the Ghana Education Service (GES) fails to put them at the right the salary scale by the end of this month. Briefing the press on Monday at Effiduase, Mr. Isaac Owusu, spokesperson for the teachers disclosed that since they completed teacher training colleges in the year 2007 and were posted, they had not received any salaries, except the allowances they were receiving as students.

He explained that they filled the necessary documents which would enable them to receive their full salary as well as the arrears in November last year, but all to no avail.

He said the situation had made life uncomfortable for them and that majority of them were living on loans which also would attract interest. Mr Owusu stated that because of the situation, some of them had no place to sleep since they had no money to rent a room. He said that any time they went to their district office at Effiduase they were always informed that their forms had been sent to Accra for the Controller and Accountant General Department to work on. He urged the Ghana Education Service to act promptly to help motivate them to give off their best.

When contacted, the Sekyere East Directorate of Education confirmed the situation and said that the directorate had sent all the necessary documents to Accra to be work on it.