UTAG, 3 Others Declare Indefinite Strike

Listen to this article Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Four tertiary labour unions will today October 17, 2022, begin a nationwide industrial action to press home their demand for better conditions of service.

The unions are the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG), and the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA).

In a statement signed by executives of the unions, it detailed that the strike has been occasioned by the government’s failure to honour fuel, vehicle maintenance and off-campus allowances.

It recounted that following the union’s decision to embark on a strike on Thursday, October 13, 2022, over what it describes as a “blatant unilateral variation of agreed conditions of service in the face of hostile economic conditions”, the National Labour Commission intervened and ruled that “the parties to engage within one week on the terms of payment and other related matters”

However, the government rather opted to establish a 10-member committee to address only issues about the ‘Off-campus allowance’ – a move which was rejected by the union leaders.

The union leaders instead proposed enforcement of the 2022 adjusted fuel ex-pump rate of GH¢10.99. The meeting ended in a stalemate over the matter which has compelled the unions to declare an indefinite strike.

“The NLC ruling stated that the meeting was for “… the parties to engage within one week on the terms of payment and other related matters …”. However, the Employer failed to present the “terms of payment” for the Vehicle Maintenance and Off-Campus Allowances, which are the main issues in contention, as directed by the NLC.

“Rather, they suggested the formation of a 10-member committee to address only the Off-Campus Allowance. The leaders of the four (4) Labour Unions rejected the “suggestion” and rather pushed for enforcement of the 2022 adjusted fuel ex-pump rate of GH¢10.99, thus, the meeting ended in a stalemate

“As a result of this development, we write to communicate that the intended strike action of all Labour Unions in the public universities in Ghana is to commence from Monday, 17th October 2022 as the Employer has, once again, failed to adhere to the directive of the NLC,” part of the statement read.

By: ghanaweb.com