Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Kwadwo Kwarteng, has stated voting no at the National Executive Committee (NEC) does not affect suspension of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) strike at the various campuses.
The strike, he said, remains suspended until NEC decides otherwise.
UTAG called off its almost seven-week-old strike after several appeals.
After a National Executive Committee meeting, the Association resolved to resume negotiations till March 4, 2022.
However, the University of Ghana (UG) branch of UTAG voted against the decision by the National Executive Committee of the Association to suspend the nationwide strike.
The University of Winneba Chapter also voted against its NEC’s decision to suspend the strike.
Mr. Kwarteng, however, contends regardless of these votes the strike will remain suspended and shared this on Facebook.
He wrote, “University of Ghana & UEW UTAG voting NO at NEC does not affect the suspension of the strike at the various campuses. The strike action remains suspended until NEC decides otherwise.”
UTAG resolved to suspend its industrial action temporarily following meetings held between the leadership of UTAG, Parliament’s Education Committee, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Education Minister and the Labour Minister last week.
UTAG wants the government to restore their 2012 conditions of service, which pegged the monthly income of entry-level lecturers at $2,084.
The Association has complained that the current arrangement has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84.
Statesmen such as former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Sam Jonah, some Vice-Chancellors among others had also weighed in and pleaded for the lecturers to return to the classroom.
However, per a statement from UTAG, NEC had agreed to heed the advice of the eminent leaders, the Select Committee on Education and the court ruling to suspend the strike action.
The decision, NEC said, will last until March 4 by which time a favourable outcome would have been achieved amid further engagement.
The announcement signed by UTAG’s National President Prof Solomon Nunoo also reiterated that a roadmap had been agreed between the Association and government.
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.”
UTAG has been on strike since January 10, 2022, over the government’s failure to review their conditions of service since 2017.