Caterers under the government’s School Feeding Programme have expressed their displeasure over a proposed GH¢1.20 increment suggested by the Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu. According to these caterers, the proposed increase is not sufficient and remains unacceptable.
Since the reopening of schools, catering services have been suspended, with caterers demanding that the government increases the daily amount per child and settles any outstanding arrears. They are requesting payment of GH¢3.50 per child before ending their industrial action.
Dorothy Ofori Sarpong, who is the spokesperson for the caterers in the Ashanti Region, conveyed her dissatisfaction with the Minister’s response to their concerns stating,
“We are not going to cook; we are still on strike, though the Minister has spoken. What she came to say wasn’t to our satisfaction. The arrears that she claimed have been cleared, with the exception of the 2022 third term, are not so. There are arrears as far back as 2019, 2020, and 2021… so if she is saying all arrears have been paid, it is not so.”
Adding to that, she said, “With the amount of GH¢1.20 proposal, we are not going to agree. We cannot use this to prepare any better food for the children, and so we pray that she goes back and comes to tell us something better.”
The leadership of the caterers under the government’s School Feeding Programme in the Ashanti Region have also expressed their dissatisfaction with the Gender Minister’s approach in addressing their concerns. They want the Minister to visit various districts to understand the challenges of their members better.
In response to the caterers’ strike, the Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Lariba Zuweira Abudu, assured them that plans were in place to pay any outstanding arrears for the third term of the 2022 academic year.