Begging Won't Do The Trick; Just Formalize Issues - NAGRAT To Prez Mahama   21-Mar-2013        credit:peacefmonline.com

The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has responded to President John Dramani Mahama’s appeal to the group to call off their strike by stating that it would be better for government to take steps to formalize issues they have raised than to beg them via word of mouth. The group insists they have been flexible enough over the years and claims government usually deploys the tactics of “begging” teachers on strike to cease their industrial action but cared less about their welfare. Two teacher unions, Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike action this week. President Mahama, in a passionate appeal to the striking teachers, called on them to rescind their decision by going back to the classrooms. He pleaded with the teachers to put the interest of the nation first and consider the effect the timing of their strike will have on their students. But the Financial Secretary for NAGRAT, Seth Oduro Boadu, replied that the group will only return to the classroom if they see measurable commitment to address their concerns from government. In an interview on Okay FM, he called on President Mahama to put the “begging” into writing and document it as evidence that the teachers can easily refer to should he (Mahama) fail to honour his word. He called on President Mahama to further dispatch copies to NAGRAT through the Secretary to the President by way of formalizing the issue. “This isn’t the first time we have met with the president over this issue; we once had a meeting with his Chief of Staff and it yielded no positive results. “He shouldn’t be using the radio or any media outlet to appeal to us, he should rather concentrate on formalizing the issue”, Mr. Oduro Boadu advised. In a related development, the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) has decided to join the indefinite nationwide strike declared by GNAT and NAGRAT. TEWU members are mainly non-teaching staff of many schools across the country. TEWU’s strike comes on the heels of a meeting held between the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and GNAT and NAGRAT towards deciding whether to temporarily suspend the strike or not following a seven-day ultimatum given to the parties by the National Labour Commission for them to resolve their impasse.