The Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) has accused the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the Ministry of Education (MoE) of deliberately distorting facts surrounding their ongoing strike action.

In a statement released on August 13, 2024, CETAG expressed strong dissatisfaction with remarks made by the NLC Executive Secretary, alleging that his comments were designed to portray CETAG members as unreasonable in their demands. The Association argued that these statements have created a misleading narrative about their position and the reasons behind the strike.

“First of all, the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission has been making wild allegations in the media of late to create an impression that CETAG members were unreasonable and that the Union was making the work of the Commission difficult,” the statement read.

CETAG emphasized that the ongoing industrial action is a result of the NLC’s failure to enforce a compulsory arbitration award granted to the association on May 2, 2023. They further clarified that allegations made by the NLC Executive Secretary, suggesting that CETAG had refused to call off the strike in defiance of a court order, were completely unfounded.

“Since CETAG declared our indefinite strike on June 14, 2024, no court has ordered the Union to end the strike,” CETAG stated.

The Association also noted that the High Court in Accra has adjourned indefinitely the NLC’s interlocutory injunction filed against CETAG.

Additionally, the Commission’s application for enforcement of its compulsory arbitration award on behalf of CETAG has faced delays, with the case last scheduled for a hearing on June 26, 2024.

As of now, the Ministry of Education and the National Labour Commission have yet to respond to the allegations made by CETAG.