The University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG) has decided to put its strike on hold for the time being.
This came after an emergency meeting of UTAG’s National Executive Committee on Monday to assess the strike’s progress.
Meetings held last week between the UTAG leadership, Parliament’s Education Committee, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Education Minister, and the Labour Minister had ended inconclusively.
UTAG wants the government to reinstate their 2012 terms of service, which set the monthly salary of entry-level lecturers at $2,084.
The Association has complained that the current arrangement has reduced the basic premiums for its members to $997.84.
Former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Sam Jonah, and some Vice-Chancellors, among others, have weighed in and urged lecturers to return to the classroom.
However, today’s decision gives students hope that their academic work will resume soon.
Per the statement, UTAG has agreed to heed the advice of the eminent leaders, the Select Committee on Education and the court ruling to suspend our strike action…”
The decision is said to be in effect until March 4, at which point a favorable outcome would have been achieved through additional engagement.
The announcement, signed by UTAG’s National President Prof Solomon Nunoo, also reiterated that the Association and government had agreed on a roadmap.
In that regard, “negotiations will commence in earnest and completed within the agreed period and the outcome.”
Meanwhile, “the legal processes on the legality or otherwise of our strike action, pending before the Court, will continue to its logical conclusion.”
Following an appeal by the National Labour Commission (NLC), the Court granted an interlocutory injunction against UTAG’s strike on February 15.
The NLC took UTAG to court after attempts to persuade UTAG to call off its strike were unsuccessful.
UTAG has been on strike since January 10, 2022, due to the government’s failure to review their working conditions since 2017.
Students are still suffering as a result of the lecturers’ refusal to back down from their demands.
Read Also: Four Ghanaians thrown in jail for smuggling cocaine to UK
SOURCE: myjoyonline
