No arrears for SWAT, but teachers must beg for 10 months’ salary – Barker-Vormawor slams gov’t

Activist and lawyer Oliver Barker-Vormawor has criticized the Ghana Police Service for deploying a SWAT team to confront a group of unpaid teachers peacefully picketing at the Ghana Education Service (GES) headquarters in Accra.

In a Facebook post, Barker-Vormawor questioned the logic behind unleashing a fully paid elite police unit on teachers who have been working for 10 months without salaries.

“Hundreds of trained teachers who have been unpaid for 10 months picketed at the GES,” he wrote.

“A SWAT team was unleashed on them. The SWAT team’s salary has been fully paid. No arrears. Salam!”

The protest, which took place on Tuesday, drew hundreds of trained educators demanding immediate payment of their salary arrears.

The teachers say the government’s prolonged silence and failure to compensate them have left many in dire financial straits.

Eyewitnesses confirmed the arrival of the armed unit, expressing shock at the heavy-handed response to what was by all accounts a peaceful demonstration.

In response to public criticism, the Ghana Police Service issued a statement describing the move as a “standard crowd control response aimed at ensuring public safety and preventing escalation.”

But many, including Barker-Vormawor, see it as a deeper reflection of misplaced priorities.

The picketing teachers, most of whom were posted to schools across the country, say they have been fulfilling their duties under harsh conditions, often without the resources or support they need.

Their frustration has grown over months of unfulfilled promises and bureaucratic delays.