Accra,- The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has called on Government and the National Labour Commission (NLC) to resolve the ongoing labour unrest with the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to avoid shutdown of public universities.
The Association in a press release signed by Mr Kwabena Antwi-Konadu, its National President, said
the statutes of the universities said in the event where academic or normal life of the universities was disrupted for 21 continuous days, the Councils shall order the closure of the universities.
The statement, therefore, called on Government to take a decisive step towards resolving the impasse, saying, the earlier the issues were resolved, the better for tertiary education in Ghana.
“GAUA wishes to respectfully advise the National Labour Commission to withdraw all lawsuits in the courts and allow the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to champion the negotiations with UTAG on their demands,” the statement said.
GAUA said they were “equally and negatively” affected by the worsening conditions of service and called for the restoration of the Interim Market Premium of 114 per cent calculated on the basic salaries of senior members of the public universities in line with the agreement of migration onto the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2012.
“GAUA shall surely stand by UTAG in demanding what has been legitimately requested from Government,” it said, adding that they would embark on an industrial action if the restoration of the Interim Market Premium of 114 per cent calculated on Senior Members of the public universities basic salary delayed further.
UTAG on Monday, January 10, 2022, embarked on industrial action over their “worsening” conditions of service.
The National Labour Commission upon hearing their case on Thursday, January 13, 2022, ruled that the strike be called off because it was “illegal.”
UTAG, however, ignored the directive to call off the strike with fears of shutdown of public universities.
The Ghana Association of University Administrators is made up of non-teaching, administrative and professional staff of the universities responsible for day-to-day administration.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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