"It Is Unfortunate Teachers Are Not Categorized Under Essential Services�

The Secretary of the University of Ghana Branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Ato Yankson has expressed disappointment with the fact that teaching is not classified as an essential service under the laws of Ghana. �It is unfortunate that the services of teachers are not categorized as essential. It�s rather unfortunate because if you are talking about essential services and you would take away capacity building, then what are we doing�? The University teacher questioned. Mr. Yankson therefore called on the legislative arm of government to �rethink this and make teaching an essential service under the law�. He made this appeal after Joshua Aryeetey; the Chairman of the National Media commission outlined the three stage processes through which UTAG must go in order to reach settlement. He further indicated that the impasse between government represented by the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) and the UTAG was not going to have, what he termed a �fast track� settlement because teaching is not listed as an essential service. According to Mr. Aryeetey, teachers or UTAG can only be added to the list unless Parliament which passed the Legislative Instrument (LI) 1833, in which essential services providers are listed, �makes changes and add UTAG to it�. �Do we need the services of the teacher? If we do, then we should be able to pay and make the teacher give off his best, because if we pretend to be providing for the teachers, it would get to a time when the teachers would begin to pretend their service. And I don�t think that would help for development and progress,� he maintained. The University of Ghana (UG) lecturer, further stated that the migration of the teaching profession unto the essential services providers, would help settle labour disputes with regards to the profession and check industrial actions which goes a long way to affect everyone negatively.