UTAG has agreed to call off its six-week-old strike

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) leadership has agreed in principle to call off their strike after a crucial meeting with the parliamentary Education Committee.

According to the Ranking Member of the Education Committee, Peter Nortsu-Kotoe, “UTAG will announce their decision after consultation with members”.

The closed-door meeting with the Education Committee have in attendance UTAG representatives, the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations as well as officials of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission.

“After listening to the cases, we realized that there will be the need for more dialogue. We finally appealed as a committee to UTAG to call off the strike which they agreed in Principle. We expect they call off the strike today and then continue with the negotiations,” Peter Nortsu-Kotoe said.

Meanwhile, the Labour Division of the Accra High Court on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, granted an interlocutory injunction against the industrial action by the UTAG following an appeal by the National Labour Commission (NLC) in their suit.

After unsuccessful attempts to persuade UTAG to call off its strike, the NLC took the association to court. The court ordered the parties to reach an out-of-court settlement on two occasions, but the engagements were unsuccessful.

With the current ruling, it was expected that UTAG would return to the classroom right away, but this has not happened.

The meeting with the Parliamentary Education Committee appears to be the final attempt to break the impasse between the groups, which has been amicably resolved, according to Nortsu-Kotoe.

The terms under which UTAG will call off the strike, as well as the substance of the concessions made at the meeting, are unknown.

However, the substantive motion is still in court and will be heard on February 22, 2022. The UTAG believes they have a strong case.

Meanwhile, a post from one of the leading members of UTAG and an executive of the University of Ghana chapter has posted a message on his Facebook page that cast doubts on the supposed agreement to call off the strike.

He posted, “Note this: No Politician can call off the UTAG strike. No Sponsored Propagandistic Media Reportage can pressurize anyone. Only members can rescind their decision after they are convinced. If they do, they will communicate”.

If elements in his post are to be considered, it may be a long wait for university students as the strike could still drag on for a very long time and may ultimately result in the universities getting closed down.