GNAT Blames Government for Ongoing Teachers Strike, Demands Automated Salary Upgrades

The leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has firmly shifted the accountability for the ongoing nationwide strike onto the central government, emphasizing that the industrial action is a direct result of broken state promises rather than union malice. Speaking on TV3’s Hot Issues on Sunday, October 4, 2026, GNAT General Secretary Thomas Tanko Musah clarified that teachers are not striking to inflict harm, but are simply demanding that the state honors its own negotiated terms regarding automated salary upgrades for newly promoted educators.

According to Musah, a previous consensus explicitly established that promoted teachers would have their salary levels adjusted automatically by the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) without needing to submit extra paperwork. Because this automated transition never materialized, the union leaders feel forced into industrial action after alternative negotiation routes collapsed.

Musah highlighted a critical structural distinction in the employment relationship, stating that teachers are contractually employed by the Government of Ghana, not the CAGD. The Controller's office functions merely as a distribution channel chosen by the state to disburse funds, meaning the administrative bottleneck remains a state-level responsibility.

The union argues that the state has abandoned its fundamental duty of care by failing to police its own financial departments. Musah maintained that since the government allocates the budget for public sector wages, it holds the ultimate legal and moral responsibility to compel the CAGD to release the correct salaries.

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The teacher unions, including GNAT, NAGRAT, and PRETAG, enforced the indefinite nationwide strike on September 25, 2026. The mass industrial action was driven by deep-seated frustrations over the government's failure to seamlessly transition newly promoted teachers to their corresponding higher salary scales. Educators are also demanding the immediate release of delayed salary arrears, alongside the long-awaited implementation of a 20% Deprived Area Allowance and updated conditions of service agreements.

Seeking to restore normalcy to locked classrooms, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu and Finance Minister Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson have intervened with an official plea for the unions to return to work. The government has pledged to fast-track the resolution of the disputed promotion adjustments and promised to establish an immediate negotiating window with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to sort out the remaining grievances.

However, the state's overtures have done little to break the deadlock, as union leaders remain completely resolute in their demands. Frontline executives have strictly ordered teachers across the country to maintain the shutdown, declaring that no member will step back into a classroom until all newly adjusted salaries and outstanding financial arrears are fully paid out.