Alhassan Suhuyini, a member of parliament representing Tamale North, has expressed support for teachers in their demand for the payment of a cost-of-living allowance (COLA).
He claims that given the nation's present economic difficulties, the demand is essential.
In an interview with the AM Show on Thursday, he said that since the cost of products and services is always rising, the demands of the protesting teachers are reasonable.
In light of the teachers' complaints, Mr. Suhuyini urged the administration to address them. The teachers are in the midst of a statewide strike that started on Monday, July 4, 2022, and is now in its fourth day.
"It's well past time. The cost of living allowance, or "COLA," must be paid since it is obvious that everyone's ability to regulate it has been lost, and they are entitled to it. In support of the requests made by some of the country's teacher unions who are on strike, he told host Samuel Kojo Brace that "government must find a way.
In protest of the government's failure to pay them their "COLA," members of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT) have all put down their tools.
The government was previously given till June 30 by the teaching unions to pay the aforementioned payment.
However, the administration failed to meet this deadline, forcing the teachers to call a strike on July 4, 2022.
In the meantime, a crucial meeting between the administration and the heads of the four striking teacher unions failed to find a solution to the problem.
Representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Benjamin Arthur, CEO of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Prof. Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, Minister of Education, and Ignatius Baffour-Aluah, Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, all attended the meeting.
The government "came empty-handed and so we stopped the meeting," Isaac Baah, a member of the leadership of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), who was present at the meeting, told JoyNews in an interview.
However, Dominic Nitiwul, the minister of defence, has urged with labour unions to be patient as the government bargains for a rescue with the IMF.
He contends that the current strike activities some of the unions have started would not be necessary if the government had the resources to satisfy their demands. Therefore, he urged everyone to use common sense.
Dominic Nitiwul stated, "This concept of I'm going on strike, I'm going to do this, if government has all the means they would deliver it to you," on JoyNews' PM Express on Wednesday. This administration has demonstrated to everyone that, if given the opportunity, they would act.
"They have never treated employees with contempt, never screamed at employees, and they have always dealt with employees in good faith. I implore them to give the administration the chance to engage in good faith negotiations with them," he pleaded.