Saakuur Karbo
THE TEACHERS and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), is calling on the Ministry of Education, the National Council for Tertiary Education, NCTE and Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) to be fair to all categories of staff at the Colleges of Education.
TEWU’s call follows some developments which if not addressed promptly will disadvantage the non–teaching staff at the Colleges of Education.
In a statement issued by its General Secretary, Augustine Saakuur Karbo, TEWU of TUC said, “We are worried about a letter from the Minister of Education on the payment of arrears in which it was clearly stated ‘teachers’ salary arrears’”.
It indicated that “Meanwhile it is not only teachers who work at the Colleges of Education, that is why we think there is some abnormality in the action taken by the authorities regarding the payment of the arrears to the non-teaching staff of the Colleges of Education.”
The leadership and entire members of TEWU, it said, “Therefore wish to register our disappointment about the manner in which the issue of payment of salary arrears to all categories of staff at the Colleges of Education is being handled.”
According to the statement, “What the union will not accept is any deliberate attempt to shortchange our members in any institution, particularly, the Colleges of Education, in matters relating to their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure, and the payment of what is due them including arrears.”
“It must be noted clearly that TEWU welcomes the necessary steps being taken to streamline the structures of the Colleges of Education to reflect their new status after they were upgraded to tertiary level, with the ultimate goal of transforming them into University Colleges,” it added.
In view of the upgrading of the Colleges of Education to tertiary status, it noted, “These institutions have moved from the GES to National Council for Tertiary Education, NCTE which is the regulatory body of tertiary institutions.”
According to the statement, “In effect, the structures and other things including pay structure of the Colleges of Education have changed following their migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) without the corresponding motivation of all categories of staff, particularly, the Non-Teaching Staff.”
“The Colleges of Education were migrated onto the SSSS just last year, around August – September, with a lot of challenges of unfairness and discrimination against the non-teaching staff on placement onto the SSSS. Based on this, all workers, that is, both non-teaching and teaching staff were entitled to some arrears accruing from the migration.”
It said, “It is therefore sad that in spite of the effort of the TEWU leadership to get all staff who deserve the arrears to be paid , the non-teaching were left out when the payment was done.”
It bemoaned that “TEWU finds this development unacceptable giving the fact that the union leadership was involved in the preparation and validation of the list of all beneficiaries (teaching and non- teaching staff) of the arrears.”
“We, therefore, as a matter of urgency call on the Ministry of Education, National Council For Tertiary Education, NCTE, the Management bodies of the Colleges of Education, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, FWSC and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department, to correct this grave anomaly of not paying arrears to the non- teaching staff of the Colleges of Education, under the SSSS,” it urged.
BY Melvin Tarlue