Court orders UTAG to suspend strike
The Labour Division of the Accra High Court has put an injunction on the strike by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).
The court, presided over by Justice Frank Aboadwe Rockson, on Tuesday afternoon [15 February 2022] halted the strike which is currently in its fifth week.
The order followed an application for interlocutory injunction by the National Labour Commission(NLC).
Per the orders of the court, UTAG must suspend its strike until the final determination of an application by the NLC, seeking to enforce its orders for UTAG to call off its strike and return to the negotiation table with the government.
The UTAG on Monday (10 January) began an indefinite strike in response to what it describes as “the worsening conditions of service of the university teacher and the failure of the employer in addressing the plight of UTAG members within the agreed timelines.”
Surprise
Earlier, the Ministry of Education expressed surprise at the decision by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to embark on an indefinite strike.
Speaking to Beatrice Adu on The Big Bulletin on Monday (10 January), the public relations officer of the Ministry of Education, Kwasi Kwarteng said “together with the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and, of course, all other stakeholders we have been engaging UTAG for months. While we feel that we have been taken by surprise, we also believe that at the end of the day, leadership ought to be demonstrated.
“We have never said that those concerns raised by UTAG are not valid. We know that when we talk about market premium it is a subject that is non-negotiable.”
Meanwhile, the National Labour Commission (NLC) has summoned the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the University Teachers Association of Ghana to appear before it on Thursday “for a hearing of the issues in dispute.”
UTAG has for some time now been demanding the implementation of a 2012 Single Spine package which put entry-level lecturers on a salary equivalent of US$2,084 while the current level puts lecturers’ salaries around US$900.
Source: Graphic.com.gh
