By: Deborah Amewoyi
Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson has announced that the book and research allowance demanded by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Colleges of Education Teachers Association of Ghana (CETAG ) and the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) have been embedded within the 2025 budget.
In a consultation with leadership of the three unions, the finance minister announced the demands for which these teaching unions threatened to embark on a nationwide strike by June 13, 2025 have been included in the 2025 budget adding up that arrangements are being made with the Education Ministry to ensure its release.
“I assured them that the allowance has been fully captured in the 2025 Budget, and I have since initiated the necessary processes in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education to ensure its release.” the minister wrote in a Facebook post.
Additionally, Ato Forson touched on the unions’ proposal to establish a Labour Relations Desk within the finance ministry, the minister who welcome the proposal with optimism declared that the “initiative, once operationalised, will strengthen coordination with our [the ministry’s ]counterparts on the labour front and enhance dialogue and responsiveness.
Relatively, Cassiel Ato Forson highlighted the existence of some ghost names on the payroll list which is causing financial loss to the state. “Preliminary findings indicate a significant presence of ghost names on the payroll, a situation that, if addressed decisively, could yield substantial savings for the public purse.” he noted.
Conclusively, he appealed to the teaching unions to lend their uttermost support with investigations in order to clear up these ghost names on the payroll. “Cleaning the payroll is not only about fiscal prudence; it is also about restoring integrity and fairness in public sector compensation.” he said
He assured Ghanaians of the Ministry’s commitment to “sustainable, equitable, and accountable public service.”
