Breakaway unions have no certificate to negotiate conditions of service –  TEWU

Mr Mark Dankyira Korankye, General Secretary, Teachers and Education Workers Union (TEWU) of the Trade Union Congress, says breakaway unions have no bargaining certificate to negotiate the conditions of service of workers in traditional and technical institutions. The General Secretary, at a press briefing in Accra, emphasised that TEWU was the only union that had been recognised by various university statutes with the rightful representation of junior staff, some senior staff, and senior members in the university councils. This call was in response to the merger and breakaway of two unions, notably TEWU and the Technical Universities Workers Association of Ghana from TEWU. The General Secretary stressed that TUWAG and TEWU had no mandate to negotiate the conditions of service for tertiary education workers. 'The leadership of TEWU can say without any shred of doubt that these breakaway groups do not possess any bargaining certificates or collective agreements to make them believe they can advance the i nterests of the non-teaching staff at the traditional and technical universities,''? he said. Mr Korankye said the merged union lacked the legitimacy to negotiate the conditions of service of university workers since they were not registered with the appropriate authorities. 'Our checks at the relevant agencies, including the Labour Department, indicate that none of the two breakaway groups possesses bargaining certificates or collective agreements.? 'This raises the question of the basis upon which the supposedly merged group plans to negotiate on behalf of junior staff, some senior staff, and senior members at public and technical universities,'' he said. He said TEWU was in court as part of the due process to get the leadership of the breakaway groups to account for their stewardship during their tenure as local executives of TEWU. Mr Korankye said it was important to acknowledge that only a minority of junior staff in public and technical universities belong to these breakaway groups and that it was inaccurate for these groups to claim representation of the junior staff in the university communities. Source: Ghana News Agency