Accra, Jan. 29, GNA – The Teachers and
Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress Ghana has urged
political actors to exhibit high level of tolerance for opposing views, ahead
of the December elections.
This, the Union said, would help consolidate
constitutional governance as the national peace, unity and stability cannot be
sacrificed for violence.
A statement signed by Mr Mark Dankyira
Korankye, the Acting General Secretary of TEWU, and copied to the Ghana News
Agency in Accra, called on the various political groups to act with decorum in
expressing divergent views on the Electoral Commission’s decision to compile a
new Voters’ Register.
“We also urge the Electoral Commission
that in trying to assert its independence, there should be room for consensus
building to improve on the enviable gains the Commission has chalked for the
past 27 years,” it said.
The statement called on Ghanaians to be
patriotic and avoid any act that would degenerate into violence and mar the
upcoming Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
Touching on the educational sector, it
commended government agencies in the sector for initiating proactive steps to
address the payment of Critical Support to the remaining classes of its
members.
“We call on stakeholders including the
Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the ministries of Education, and Finance to
fast track the necessary processes so that the remaining classes of TEWU
members who are also qualified to enjoy the Critical Support will benefit from
it soonest”.
The statement commended the media for
devoting considerable attention to issues of educational infrastructure to
improve teaching and learning.
“TEWU is appealing to government and
other philanthropists to, as a matter of urgency, make the necessary
interventions to improve infrastructure in our educational institutions,
especially in deprived rural communities and peri-urban areas”.
It expressed worry over the health
conditions of kitchen staff in some schools that continuously used fuel wood to
cook, urging the authorities to safeguard their health by supplying those
schools with LPG cooking facilities to improve their work.
GNA