The National Executive Council of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) convened an emergency press conference and leadership meeting at its national headquarters in Accra on August 7, 2026. The association expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Education and state educational agencies over systemic administrative delays, unfulfilled promises, and deteriorating labor relations impacting teachers under the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Key Labor Grievances and Operational Bottlenecks
Systemic Delays in Promotion Placement: A substantial number of classroom teachers and school administrators across various educational districts have successfully fulfilled all requirements for career progression, including passing promotion examinations and staff appraisal interviews. However, their updated status remains uncaptured on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database (IPPD) platform. GNAT underscored that this lingering administrative backlog directly denies teachers their upgraded salary scales, duty allowances, and accumulated financial arrears, placing severe economic hardship on teachers who are already performing higher-grade responsibilities without appropriate remuneration.
Decoupling of Director II and Director I Professional Ranks: GNAT demanded an immediate policy overhaul regarding career advancement to the Director II and Director I grades. Currently, teachers eligible for these upper professional tiers face career stagnation because their advancement is tied to the availability of physical duty posts, such as District Director or Regional Director positions. The union insists that the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Public Services Commission (PSC), and GES must separate these professional ranks from specific administrative postings, allowing qualified teachers to progress based on scheme of service benchmarks.
Expiration of the Pre-Tertiary Collective Bargaining Agreement: The overarching Collective Agreement governing terms of employment, conditions of service, welfare provisions, and negotiation structures for public school teachers officially expired on July 31, 2026. GNAT noted with grave concern that bi-partite bargaining sessions to review and seal a replacement contract have stalled, creating legal ambiguity, heightening workplace tension, and exposing teachers to professional vulnerability across basic and second-cycle institutions.
Immediate Union Demands and Notice of Strike Action
To prevent a breakdown of industrial harmony within the public pre-tertiary education sector, the national executive leadership of GNAT has laid down three non-negotiable resolutions for the GES, FWSC, and PSC:
Process All Promotion Upgrades: Complete all pending promotion placement conversions and salary adjustments on the IPPD portal on or before August 31, 2026, honoring the official deadline previously announced in the GES public circular on July 28, 2026.
Execute Administrative Restructuring: Finalize the policy framework decoupling Director II and Director I ranks from administrative directorate appointments so eligible teachers can secure deserved career progression.
Conclude Contract Negotiations: Reconvene the Joint Standing Negotiating Committee immediately to resolve outstanding negotiations and execute the renewed Collective Agreement.
Important Deadline
The national executive body has issued a formal ultimatum, setting September 7, 2026, as the absolute deadline for government agencies to execute these demands. GNAT cautioned that should the government fail to act within this timeframe, the union will be compelled to mobilize its nationwide membership and initiate widespread industrial action across all public pre-tertiary schools.