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Tripartite Committee intervenes in
teachers’ payroll crisis
Accra, July 10, Ghanadot/GNA – The National Tripartite
Committee said on Thursday that it has intervened in the
teachers’ payroll crisis after organising a meeting that
provided the platform for the Ghana National Association of
Teachers (GNAT) and the Controller and Accountant General’s
Department (CAGD) to explore the issues at stake and find
common ground approach to a solution.
An official statement said the extraordinary meeting, which
was held on June 30, specifically to address the unending
teachers’ grievances on payroll anomalies, was chaired by
the Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Nana Akomea.
Also in attendance were representatives of Employers led by
Ms Joyce Aryee, organised labour led by Mr Kofi Asamoah,
GNAT led by Mrs. Irene Duncan-Adanusa and officials of the
CAGD led by Mr Christian Tetteh Sottie.
The statement said among the long standing issues were
non-payment of the 10 per cent salary arrears due to
teachers who retired from the Ghana Education Service before
December 31, 2007 and non-payment of blocked October 20006
salaries to erring GNAT members who were granted clemency by
the Ghana Education Service Council’s dated as for back as
December 8, 2006.
Others are non-payment of salary arrears for teachers who
were promoted as far back as 2005/2006 academic year,
unending saga of non-payment of salary arrears to some
newly-recruited and posted teachers, the new phenomenon of
tax arrears which has infected the pay roll endlessly.
The statement said in this phenomenon, teachers who did not
enjoy arrears suffered the tax arrears deduction and others
who got some salary arrears sometimes paid tax arrears
bigger than the salary arrears.
Other problems are inability to deduct union dues due GNAT
even though thousands of teachers have given their written
authority, loss of membership by numerous serving GNAT
members due to unexplained deletions on the pay roll.
The statement said there had been occasions when large
numbers of teachers had had no salaries at all due to total
deletion of the details from the pay roll.
There had also been huge unauthorized and sustained
deductions to teachers fund and credit mall against teachers
who had not transacted any business with the named agencies.
The meeting found that the main causes identified were
communication gaps and software problems due to the
migration from IPPD I to IPPD II.
“The Controller and Accountant-General, Mr. Sottie
personally undertook to have the issues addressed
expeditiously,” the statement said.
The Minister tasked CAGD to submit a report on the courses
of action taken to the next meeting of the Tripartite on
July 14.
GNA
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