The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) is appealing to the government to meet the demands of university teachers to avert the group’s intended strike and the negative impact on their education.
The National President of NUGS, Boakye Yiadom, says the Union is aware that UTAG has demonstrated good faith in negotiating with the government on matters relating to its conditions of service and it is now for the government to reciprocate that gesture.
Mr. Boakye Yiadom said the government must act timeously on UTAG’s concerns to stop any planned strike.
“We still feel that the government should show some level of seriousness in settling the issue with UTAG. We called on them [UTAG] to return to the classroom and return to the negotiation table which they listened to, but we realized that most of their concerns they raised about 6 months ago have still not been addressed. We have nothing to say to UTAG but we call on government to as a matter of urgency take this issue of their salaries and allowances very seriously and act on it as soon as possible,” he said.
The University Teachers Association of Ghana, UTAG, is set to begin an indefinite strike from today, Monday, January 10, 2021.
The association in a statement complained about what it refers to as lack of trust that has so far characterized their engagements with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC) with regard to their salaries and allowances.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of UTAG thus resolved to withdraw teaching and related services over the failure of their employer to adhere to agreed timelines.
Activities like examinations, invigilation, marking of examination scripts and the processing of examination results will therefore stand suspended on the various campuses.
The association has been asking the government to restore the conditions of service agreed upon in 2012.
The 2012 conditions of service pegged the Basic plus Market Premium of a lecturer at $2,084.42.
UTAG has complained that the current arrangement has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84.
