The National Labour Commission (NLC) said it may launch a contempt action against the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) leadership if they continue to disobey a court decision for them to end their strike and return to work.
The Commission obtained an interlocutory order from the Labour Court 1 on Friday to force UTAG to end their strike, which began on Monday, August 2.
The order comes after UTAG members said that they would not return to the lecture halls unless the government answers their complaints about their working conditions.
However, the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission, Ofosu Asamoah, said that the Commission is giving for a grace period before returning to court to charge them for contempt.
“Media sources indicate that they have chosen to disobey the court orders, and if that is the case, we will have to go to court to charge their leaders for contempt… If they do not comply by the end of the day. We should be in court by tomorrow [Tuesday],” he stated.
According to Mr. Ofosu Asamoah, the National Labour Commission would continue to act as an arbitrator and attempt to resolve the stalemate between university professors and the government.
It expressed the expectation that UTAG members will return to the classroom following a meeting on Wednesday.
“The NLC will continue to play its role as an independent arbiter, and the Commission will meet them on Wednesday, and I’m sure they will have resumed by then.” UTAG members have been on strike since the beginning of August, demanding that the government restore the service conditions agreed upon in 2012, which they say are far better than the current situation.
The UTAG strike has had a significant impact on academic and non-academic activities at different tertiary institutions.
The Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, the University of Ghana, and other higher institutions have already declared a suspension of exams as a result of the strike, which has no end in sight.
Concerning the court injunction on their strike, UTAG’s National President, Prof. Charles Marfo, said that the National Executive Committee has yet to decide whether or not to call off the strike in light of the development.
“When the NEC meets, and they believe that we must follow what the government or the courts require, we will… It is terrible that we will be taken to court when we have not been heard. It seems that individuals are abusing authority needlessly in order to push us into the classroom… If you force us into the classroom, can you compel us to teach? ” he inquired.
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