UTAG warns of strike action over Conditions of Service

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) says it remains determined to proceed with its scheduled nationwide strike, citing the government’s perceived lack of engagement in negotiations regarding their conditions of service.

UTAG’s General Secretary, Dr. Eliasu Mumuni, said discussions on base pay, particularly linked to market premiums, stand out as the pivotal concern that could lead to a reconsideration of their decision.

Addressing reporters in Accra, Dr. Mumuni stated that UTAG members would convene to announce the specific date for the commencement of their strike.

“We need that collective permission for membership to say we are behind you, so go ahead. And within this period, we are working on that and prompting the NLC that this is how far we think we can come with the government when it has to do with our conditions of service.”

“So within the period, if they are not able to reach us, and we have gone through the formality of engaging all the membership of all the 15 campuses, as well as prompting the Labour Commission, then we are good to go,” he said.

In a recent development, both UTAG and the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) walked out of a meeting with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) on Wednesday.

Citing the Commission’s perceived bad faith, contempt, and indifference towards crucial aspects of their conditions of service as reasons, the associations expressed their intolerance towards what they deemed gross disrespect and a lack of commitment to improving their conditions.

UTAG and TUTAG asserted that they would no longer participate in meetings that fail to produce meaningful outcomes.

They issued a warning, emphasising that the voices of university lecturers would soon be expressed in a manner more comprehensible to their employers or the government.

Source:myjoyonline