Minister hopeful UTAG will end strike action soon
After almost five weeks of industrial action, the Minister of Education Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum is optimistic that the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG ) will soon go back to the lecture halls in the coming days.
The Minister revealed that some decisions have been taken and will be communicated to the public soon.
After the meeting with all Vice Chancellors of public universities in Ghana, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum assured that the government will do all it can to end UTAG’s industrial action.
“We met with the Vice-Chancellors of the various universities and discussed a number of issues, bordering around how to get our university teachers, without whom schools will not run back to the lecture halls.”
“Some important decisions were made and I am glad about the outcome. We are going to follow through to ensure that the strike is called off in the coming days.”
UTAG has for some years now raised concerns about the government’s lack of commitment to meeting its needs.
“The lawyer made it clear that we signed a couple of MOAs [in the past], but the employer has not shown any good faith anytime the MOAs were signed,” the National Secretary of UTAG, Dr. Asare Asante-Annor, said earlier.
UTAG embarked on this industrial action on January 10 to force the government to bring back 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.
By: Stella Annan | myactiveonline.com Twitter @activetvgh
