Teacher unions join Organised Labour strike over SSNIT hotels sale
The leadership of pre-tertiary teacher unions (Ghana National Association of Teachers, National Association of Graduate Teachers and Coalition of Concerned Teachers Ghana) has directed its members to lay down their tools and stay off work beginning July 15, 2024.
In a statement sighted by Thisterm.com, the unions said the industrial action has become necessary as the government intends to go ahead with the sale of the SSNIT properties to Rock City despite the call by Organised Labour for a halt to the sales.
“The Leadership of the Pre-Tertiary Unions under the Ministry of Education, call on all Teachers and non Teaching Staff to heed the call of Organised Labour by laying down their working tools and stay off work beginning 15 July 2024.
This strike has become necessary due to the fact that the government intends to go ahead with the sale of SSNIT properties to Rock City despite the call by Organise Labour for a halt to the sales,” the leadership said in a statement.
The pre-tertiary teacher unions strike comes after Organised Labour declared an indefinite strike action following the National Pensions Regulatory Authority’s (NPRA) approval for the sale of Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) hotels.
On Thursday, Minister for Employment, Labour Relations and Pensions, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, told Parliament that the NPRA had cleared SSNIT to proceed with its controversial plan to sell four hotels to Bryan Acheampong’s Rock City Hotel.
In a related development, the management of the Rock City Hotel has reportedly withdrawn its bid to purchase the 60 per cent shares of some four hotels owned by the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
The Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) owned hotels to be sold to Rock City Hotels by the central government are La Palm Beach Hotel, Labadi Beach Hotel, Royal Ridge Hotel and Elimina Beach Hotel.
The decision to withdraw the bid comes after Organised Labour threatened to embark on a strike on Monday, July 15 if SSNIT proceeds with the decision to sell the Hotels to Rock City Hotel owned by Agriculture Minister Bryan Acheampong.
In a letter addressed to the Director-General of SSNIT, Mr. Kofi Osafo-Maafo, Rock City Hotel expressed their disappointment at the lack of stakeholder engagement, which they believe has led to the negativity surrounding their bid.