Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum meets teacher unions over promotion arrears

Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, the Minister of Labour, Jobs and Employment, has initiated high-level negotiations with leadership from striking public pre-tertiary teacher unions. The meeting, held on October 9, 2026, was convened to resolve critical grievances that have led to industrial action, affecting academic activities across the country's public schools. The minister's intervention reflects the government's effort to find a sustainable solution to the impasse that has kept teachers away from their classrooms. The discussions primarily focus on two long-standing issues that the unions say have remained unaddressed despite several appeals. These include the payment of outstanding promotion arrears and the provision of deprived area allowances for teachers working in underserved communities. Prior to this intervention, the unions had been engaged in protracted discussions with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), but those talks had failed to produce a breakthrough sufficient to end the strike. During the meeting, Mr. Agyekum expressed significant optimism regarding the trajectory of the negotiations. He stated that the government is prioritising the resolution of these labour disputes to ensure a stable and productive educational environment for students. The Minister indicated that he anticipated a positive outcome by the end of the day, which would ideally lead to the immediate resumption of full academic work in public schools across Ghana.