UTAG, other unions to embark on industrial strike after failed meeting with government

Despite the postponement a few days ago, on Wednesday, October 13, four teacher unions such as UTAG, GAUA, SSA-UoG and TEWU-GH have declared an indefinite strike on Monday, October 17.

“After the deliberations, the Commission directed that the Employer should hold meetings with the four (4) Labour Unions on Friday, 14th October 2022, and Monday, 17th October 2022 to “discuss terms of payment and other related matters. The parties have also been instructed to report back to the NLC on Thursday, October 19, 2022.

“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, which was to commence today, 13th October 2022 has been postponed for the meetings with the Employer to take place,” the unions stated in their earlier statement.

However, the meeting, which was held on Friday, October 14, appears to have yielded no results, as they have stated in a release issued today that the employer (government) has since not responded positively to their demands.

“The National Leaders of UTAG, GAUA, SSA-UoG, and TEWU-GH have made several efforts since April 2022 to address some issues related to their Fuel, Vehicle Maintenance, and Off-Campus Allowances.

“Following the Press Conference by the Labour Unions, the National Labour Commission (NLC) invited the parties to a hearing on 12th October 2022, where the Commission entreated the parties to engage. It is important to state that up until the NLC hearing, the Employer had not responded to any of the letters of the Labour Unions or the request of the Commission for the Employer to respond to the complaints of the Labour Unions,” a portion reads.

It stressed “In the said meeting, the Employer was represented by the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Honourable Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Ignatius Baffour Awuah, the Honourable Deputy Minister of Finance, Abena Osei Asare, the Honourable Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations, Bright Wireko-Brobby, the Chief Executive of the FWSC, Ing. Benjamin Arthur, the Director General of Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), Prof. Mohammed Salifu, among other officials."

According to the statement, “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 an enforcement of the 2022 adjusted fuel ex-pump rate of GH¢10.99, thus, the meeting ended in a stalemate.”

It adds “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.”

Students of some institutions, notably the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), whose end-of-semester examination is slated for Monday, October 17, are confused as to whether it will come on or not, amidst the strike action.