The Ministry of Finance has ordered the Controller and Accountant General’s Department to release an amount of GHS49,998,626.72 to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to settle outstanding salaries and transfer grants of its staff.

The letter that gave the order was signed by Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare on Wednesday, 11 December 2019.

It said: “You (CAGD) are hereby authorised to release the sum of GHS49,998,626.72 (Forty-Nine Million Nine Hundred and Ninety-Eight Thousand, Six Hundred and Twenty-Six Cedis Seventy pesewas) to enable the Director-General, Ghana Education Service, pay outstanding transfer grants and other allowances to qualified staff of GES from 2017 to 2019.”

This comes after the Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) and the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT-Gh) declared a strike over unpaid arrears.

NAGRAT, GNAT and CCT-Gh began the nationwide strike on Monday, 9 December.

The three unions’ industrial action is in connection with the failure of the government to pay their legacy arrears.

They made the joint announcement of their strike at a press conference held in Accra on Thursday, 5 December 2019.

According to the unions, the arrears date as far back as 2012 to 2016.