Members of the Senior Staff Association, Universities of Ghana UCC Local, have been directed to resume work on Monday, February 12, 2024.
This follows the immediate suspension of the nationwide strike by the SSA-UOG in light of the accomplishments achieved from their negotiations with stakeholders resolving their demands.
Read: SSA-UoG, Others Suspend Nationwide Strike
Chairman of the SSA-UoG UCC Local, Sandy Kumi-Sinatra in a statement commended stakeholders for their dedicated efforts in resolving issues.
He also extended appreciation to its members for their ongoing support in working towards securing enhanced Conditions of Service.
SUSPENSION OF STRIKE BY SSA-UOG
Fellow Senior Staff of our great University of Cape Coast, we bring you warm felicitations in the comfort of your abode. As we are all aware, on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, the Senior Staff Association – Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) and Federation of Universities Senior Staff Association of Ghana (FUSSAG) declared a nationwide strike to press home some important long outstanding demands.
Subsequently, leadership has effectively engaged Government through the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) as well the National Labour Commission (NLC) in resolving the deadlock.
I know we are all abreast with the background leading to the strike and would only want to touch on the successes achieved as a result of the strike.
1. Restoration of Overtime Allowance (O.T) for Senior Staff in all public Universities.
2. Payment of outstanding Tier 2 principal, from February to December, 2023.
3. Payment of outstanding lump sum to retired colleagues from 2020 to 2022 at least by May 2024.
Another important issue discussed aside the striking issues was the mass staff exodus and absorption of IGF staff within the universities. We were informed by the ministries that replacement clearance will be given to the Universities in March 2024 which the Ministry of Education will write to the various Vice Chancellors to at least absolve 50% of IGF staff in the respective departments.
Based on the above, the severe impact of the strike on the various campuses and respecting the NLC ruling on suspension of the strike, an Emergency National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting was convened at KNUST on Tuesday, February 7, 2024, to assess the state of the strike. NEC therefore passed a resolution to suspend the strike and engage with the Government on the roadmap for penalty payments and recalculating accrued interest on the tier 2 deductions from 2010 to 2016 and report the outcome to NLC on Thursday, February 15, 2024.
Consequently, we immediately suspend the ongoing strike action and urge all members to resume work by Monday, February 12, 2024.
We wish to express our gratitude to all stakeholders for their tireless efforts in resolving the issues at stake. Most importantly, we thank all members for your continued adherence and support as we strive to secure improved Conditions of Service for all.
Thank you and have a fruitful weekend.
SSA: Touch One; Touch All…
END
Sandy Kumi-Sinatra
Chairman – SSA, UCC