Nationwide Fury: Teachers Strike as CAGD Reveals Promotion Payouts!

Pre-tertiary teacher unions, comprising the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG), have declared an immediate nationwide strike. This industrial action stems from outstanding concerns regarding their conditions of service and significant delays in the payment of promotion arrears owed to teachers. The unions have consistently emphasized the urgency of these issues, calling upon the government to promptly address the arrears and finalize negotiations on outstanding conditions of service.

In a crucial effort to resolve these disputes and potentially end the nationwide strike, the teacher unions are scheduled to meet with the government today, Monday. NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba confirmed the unions' readiness to engage, stating their willingness to avail themselves of any genuine opportunity to resolve the issues that prompted the strike. The outcome of this high-stakes engagement will be instrumental in determining whether the unions will maintain their industrial action or consider its suspension based on progress in negotiations.

Addressing one of the key demands of the striking teachers, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has provided clarification regarding delays in the payment of promotion-related salary adjustments and arrears for teachers. CAGD attributed these delays primarily to the submission and subsequent validation of required documents by the Ghana Education Service (GES). The Department reiterated its unwavering commitment to ensuring that all public sector workers receive their legitimate salaries and allowances accurately and on time.

CAGD detailed the established payroll process, explaining that GES is responsible for initiating and effecting promotions through the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS). Following this, GES must submit the relevant documentation to CAGD for rigorous validation and processing on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Database 2 (IPPD2). The essential documents required for this process include a duly completed and signed promotion/change-of-grade input form, alongside a copy of the promotion or upgrading letter issued to the affected employee. These stringent documentation requirements are crucial safeguards designed to prevent fictitious promotions, unauthorized salary adjustments, and irregular payments, thereby ensuring that only legitimate employees receive their approved entitlements.

Further details from CAGD highlighted that a meeting held on August 31, 2026, involving the Education Ministry, GES, teacher unions, and CAGD, resulted in an agreement for GES to submit a master list of promoted staff, complete with their promotion letters and completed input forms. These documents were required to process promotion arrears dating back to January 1, 2026. As of September 22, 2026, CAGD reported that GES had submitted 6,079 completed input forms and corresponding promotion letters, out of an expected 58,620 cases.

CAGD confirmed that all 6,079 valid cases received from GES by the September 22, 2026 deadline were fully processed and paid. The applicable promotion arrears for these cases were included in the September 2026 salaries, with the arrears effective from January 1, 2026. The Department stressed that it has processed every valid case received, explaining that any outstanding payments relate exclusively to cases for which GES has yet to submit the necessary documentation for validation and payroll processing. CAGD reiterated its inability to process promotion-related salary adjustments without the required documents, stating that such transactions would remain suspended until proper submission and successful validation. The Department urged the Ministry of Education, GES, teacher unions, and other stakeholders to collaborate effectively to resolve outstanding cases and to avoid making statements that could cause public anxiety or misrepresent CAGD’s critical role in the payroll process. It also expressed appreciation for teachers' contributions to national development and assured affected staff that all legitimate payments would be processed once the requisite documentation is submitted and validated.