Following the government’s failure to respond to a long list of demands, including new rates for fuel allowance that reflect the current economic situation, the Technical University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (TUTAG) today [Friday, November 18, 2022] declared an indefinite strike action with immediate effect.
It claimed to have noted with great worry both the government’s flagrant contempt for the National Labour Commission’s (NLC) decisions and the NLC’s hesitation to enact its own verdict against the administration.
It claimed that since 2016, its members’ codified conditions of service (CoS) have not been met.
TUTAG issued the government a 10-day deadline to honor all unfulfilled agreements or the group would not hesitate to call a strike.
Despite a letter being sent to the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and copied to the Minister of Education, the Minister of Finance, the Chairman of the National Labor Commission (NLC), and the Chief Executive Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, nothing has been done, according to a joint statement signed by the organization’s president, Surv. Prof. Dr. Ing. Collins Ameyaw, and secretary, Abubakari Zakari (PhD).
“We would like to highlight that the aforementioned government agencies have subsequently paid no attention to the issues raised in the aforementioned letter. TUTAG believes that these organizations’ actions is a sign that the concerns we raised in our letter have not received the serious consideration they require “The declaration read.
A request from the Commission that the Minister of Finance (MOF) make sure that payment is made in January 2023 and that the necessary letters are sent
It has not been done to the different University Councils within a fair amount of time to create budgetary provisions in the budget to handle payments on the effective date.
“The Minister of Finance has still not released the letter as instructed by the NLC, despite January 2023 being less than two months away and the majority of universities having finished budget planning for 2023.
It stated: “It is crucial to clarify that a specific letter (electronic version), allegedly authored by the FWSC, was presented to the President at NLC. The content of the said letter was in stark contrast with the agreements conducted with the Governing Councils of the individual universities.
Checks from the individuals mentioned on the document claimed that the allegedly flawed letter had not even been received.
According to the statement, the National and Chapter Executives of TUTAG have decided to start the strike action in light of all the negligence.
