Ghana teachers threaten mass protests and legal action over unpaid salary arrears News
Amanor kwaku, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Ghana teachers threaten mass protests and legal action over unpaid salary arrears

The Ghana Coalition of Unpaid Teachers, made up of College of Education and university graduates, on Monday issued an ultimatum to the government, threatening mass protests and legal action over unpaid salary arrears spanning between 12 and 15 months. The coalition, which represents over 1,000 educators, is also demanding the collection of staff identification numbers, the correction of assumption-of-duty dates, and the resolution of other administrative irregularities.

In 2025, several demonstrations were organized by aggrieved teachers, including the Yeregye Yen Sika (“We are taking our money”) protests at the Ministry of Finance. The protests expressed frustration over months of unpaid salaries. According to the coalition, the unpaid salaries have severely affected their livelihoods, leaving many teachers burdened with debt and unable to pay rent or cover healthcare expenses.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, a leading news station in Ghana, lead protest convenor Enock Paul Ativor stated that despite engaging the Minister of Education, the Ghana Education Service and the Controller and Accountant-General’s department, the teachers have seen no meaningful results.

Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama, speaking at the 54th National Delegates Conference of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), assured teachers that the government would review the Single Spine Pay Policy (SSPP), which he described as “crooked,” as well as the pension scheme. His remarks were made in response to growing concerns about the need to improve salary payment systems in the education sector.

Failures to address the concerns of unpaid teachers, the coalition argues, would constitute a breach of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, particularly Article 24(1), which guarantees every worker the right to equal pay for equal work without discrimination. Additionally, the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651) obliges employers, including the government, to pay agreed remuneration at the time and place stipulated.

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