Stories and facts

The Ghana Union of Teachers (GUT) was a trade union that represented lower-paid schoolteachers in Ghana.

It was founded in 1956 through the merger of the Gold Coast Teachers' Union and the National Union of Teachers (NUT), with Albert Hammond as its first president.

Initially known as the Gold Coast Union of Teachers, it was renamed the Ghana Union of Teachers in 1957 following Ghana’s independence and became affiliated with the Ghana Trade Union Congress (TUC).

In the same year, some teachers left the GUT because they were dissatisfied with its secular approach and went on to establish the Federation of Gold Coast Union of Teachers (FGCUT).

This move was supported by certain government officials who opposed the union’s general secretary, Victor Christian Aggrey Fynn, after he had led a successful strike.

In 1958, a new conference united the FGCUT with former NUT members and a newly formed association of university and college workers, resulting in the creation of the Union of Teachers and Educational Institution Workers.

This new body, affiliated with the TUC, soon took precedence over the GUT and started with 18,733 members. It later became known as the Union of Teachers and Cultural Services (UTCS).

Membership in the TUC excluded workers earning more than £680 annually, leaving a significant number of teachers without access to its benefits, and many of them chose not to join.

Some teachers also believed the unions were too closely aligned with the Convention People’s Party.

In 1962, a referendum revealed that most teachers preferred independence from the TUC, prompting the government to allow the formation of the Ghana National Association of Teachers.

Consequently, both the GUT and the UTCS were dissolved and replaced by the Teachers’ and Educational Workers’ Union.

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