Savannah College of Education staff strike over payroll delays

About 170 teaching and non-teaching staff members at the Savannah College of Education in Daboya have withdrawn their services to protest an ongoing delay in their migration to the government payroll. The industrial action follows the college’s formal absorption into the public Colleges of Education system in March 2025. Since the transition, employees report that they have not been properly integrated into the centralized salary system, leading to severe financial distress among the workforce as their employment status remains unregularized. Represented by the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG) and the Colleges of Education Non-Teaching Staff Association of Ghana (CENTSAG), the workers expressed deep frustration over the inadequacy of their current allowances. They noted that the transition to the public sector was expected to provide job security and standardize their compensation, yet they remain in a state of financial uncertainty five months after the official takeover. Staff members have stated that they are increasingly unable to support their families or meet basic living expenses while waiting for the migration process to conclude. The strike has brought academic and administrative activities at the institution to a halt, affecting student services and institutional operations. Union leaders emphasized that they have engaged in extensive communication with the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) but have seen no tangible progress on their grievances. The staff maintains that the strike will continue indefinitely until the government takes concrete action to secure their migration onto the official payroll via the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.