The Controller and Accountant-General’s Department (CAGD) has paid promotion-related salary adjustments and arrears to 56,003 teachers of the Ghana Education Service (GES), completing the disbursements ahead of an October 16 deadline agreed with teacher unions to end a nationwide strike.
Of the total, 49,725 teachers received their payments on October 15, 2026, alongside their October salaries, while a further 6,278 were paid in September. The payments cover salary adjustments and arrears dating from January 1, 2026.
Unions Had Threatened Prolonged Action
The payments close a contentious chapter that saw the three pre-tertiary teacher unions—the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), and the Pre-Tertiary Teachers Association of Ghana (PRETAG)—embark on a nationwide strike beginning September 25, 2026. The unions had given the government until October 16 to provide verifiable evidence that the arrears had been paid.
The strike was driven by three principal demands: the conclusion of negotiations for a new collective agreement to replace an expired one, the automatic placement of promoted teachers onto appropriate salary scales with arrears paid from January 2026, and the implementation of a 20 percent Deprived Area Allowance for teachers serving in deprived and hard-to-reach communities. The unions had also raised concerns about excessive workloads and teacher wellbeing, with one regional secretary asking, “Is it a crime to be a teacher in Ghana?”.
Breakthrough and Conditional Return
The strike was suspended on October 9 following a multi-stage mediation effort that began at the Ministry of Labour, progressed to the Council of State, and concluded at the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC). The resolution was formalized in a joint communiqué signed by state representatives—including the FWSC and GES—and executives from all three unions. Teachers were directed to return to classrooms from Monday, October 12, 2026.
The agreement set out a dated payment schedule: an initial batch of 51,000 teachers would receive back pay by October 16, with all remaining affected staff paid by October 31. Negotiations on the Digital Instruction Support Allowance were concluded, with payouts scheduled for November 2026, and the Continuous Professional Development Allowance set for December 2026. The Deprived Area Allowance, however, has been deferred, with the government committing to rolling out full implementation modalities in January 2027.
Union leaders emphasized that the return to work was conditional, warning that any failure by the government to meet the agreed payment dates would trigger an immediate resumption of the strike.
Thousands Still Awaiting Payment
While the CAGD has completed payments for all teachers whose submitted records met payroll requirements, thousands remain in limbo. The GES had submitted supporting documents for 56,633 of the approximately 80,000 teachers reported to have been promoted. Of those, 630 cases remain pending due to issues identified during verification, and the remaining 23,367 teachers have yet to be processed by the GES, which must submit the relevant documents.
The CAGD said it “remains committed to processing outstanding eligible payments promptly once the necessary corrections are made or complete and accurate documents are received and verified,” and expressed appreciation to the GES, teacher unions, and participating ministries and agencies for their cooperation.
