Prof. Solomon Nunoo
TEACHER UNIONS have called off their strike after reaching an agreement on a roadmap for the payment of all outstanding arrears with their employer.
The unions, which include the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), the Tertiary Education Workers Union (TEWU), Senior Staff Association of the University of Ghana (SSA-UG) and the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), declared a strike on Monday, October 17, 2022,
A statement issued December 14, 2022 and signed by the president of the four associations read, “The unions, which include the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-GH), Senior Staff Association of the University of Ghana (SSA-UG) and Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) announces the withdrawal of their services over the Government’s alleged “failure to present the terms of payment for the vehicle maintenance and off-campus allowances as directed by the National Labour Commission (NLC).”
The statement said the employer has assured the labour unions it would resolve all outstanding issues in relation to the conditions of service of the aggrieved labour unions.
“At a meeting held on Thursday, 8th December, 2022, the employer accepted that it had unilaterally varied the conditions of service of staff of public universities without recourse to them. The labour unions then agreed to a roadmap for the payment of all outstanding arrears resulting from the unilateral variation of the off-campus and vehicle maintenance allowances. Thus, we wish to announce that the ongoing industrial action is suspended with immediate effect,” it stated.
The teacher unions thanked all stakeholders and members of the associations for their support, as efforts are made to improve the conditions of service for all workers of public universities across the country.
“We wish to thank all stakeholders for their tireless efforts to end this industrial action. More importantly, we thank you, our gallant members, for your support as we work to secure improved conditions of service for all workers of public universities in Ghana,” it mentioned.
BY Ebenezer K. Amponsah