The National Labour Commission (NLC) has finally succeeded in securing an injunction on the current strike action by the University Teachers Association of Ghana. The Labour Division of the Accra High Court today, Tuesday, 15 February 2022, granted the injunction application. Meanwhile, the court, which was presided by Justice Frank Aboadwe Rockson, stopped the ongoing strike. This according to the court simply means the lecturers must return to the lecture halls to continue their mandate. UTAG has been on strike demanding better conditions of service for over fifth weeks. Apexnewsgh.com/Ghana/Ngamegbulam Chidozie Stephen Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093

The University Teachers Association – Ghana (UTAG) has said their employer has maintained its position on meeting their demands. Speaking to GHOneTV monitored by Apexnewsgh.com, President of University Teachers Association – Ghana (UTAG), Prof Solomon Nunoo revealed that Market Premium is to be implemented and reviewed every five years. “It means that since Single Spine started in 2009 there should have been a review of the Market Premium in 2014 and another in 2019 and all of these review periods have not taken place,” he added. “So basically, it has to do with our Market Premium which unfortunately for us in 2013 there was a freeze on the Market Premium which use to be 114% of the basic salary. So presently what is happening is that we are having a Market Premium which is 50% because of the freeze on our basic salary,” he said. “So you will notice that the amount of money we are receiving in terms of Market Premium has reduced drastically. We are unable to meet a lot of the needs that we want to actually work on. That is the main reason why we issued the communique for us to embark on the strike action because it seems time and again our employer is just buying time and not ready to implement what will inure to the benefit of our members.” “What I expect my employer to do is to make sure we get the 114% of the basic salary as our Market Premium and we urge the employer to get that done. They can take all the time they have so that they can use that time to put in all the necessary measures to get things done well,” he added. UTAG embarked on a nationwide strike from Monday, January 10 2022 until further notice. In a statement dated January 8, 2022, the Association cataloged a number of reasons they want to lay down their tools. According to the Association, the members have decried the pittance agreed to be paid as an annual research allowance and would want to have the government reconsider the payment of a more realistic research allowance. They also disclosed the worsening Conditions of Service (CoS) of the University Teacher and the failure of the Employer in addressing the plight of UTAG members within the agreed timelines among others. Meanwhile, the Association is scheduled to meet the Employer by the 15th of January 2022 on the negotiations.

The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) is insisting that its members will embark on strike beginning August 2 if issues concerning their conditions of service are not addressed by the end of July 2021. President of the Association, Prof. Charles Marfo said the decision is a result of the government’s failure to properly resolve their concerns regarding their conditions of service over a period of time. Prof. Marfo in a Citi News interview in Kumasi said: “Over the years, the fortunes of university lecturers have dwindled. For the past three years, we have been engaging government on our conditions of service.” “So we have indicated to the government that if by the end of July 2021, we do not see anything concrete to better the lives of university lecturers, we have only one weapon and that is strike. If our concerns delay, the strike will continue if it’s declared on August 2, 2021”, he added. Meanwhile, some students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have urged the government to as a matter of urgency address the grievances of their lecturers to avoid a possible strike. Slow salary negotiations Last month, UTAG, lamented what it calls the slow nature of ongoing negotiations on the salaries and conditions of service of its members. The Association maintains that there is growing tension among its members on the various campuses due to the posture of the government towards finalizing negotiations on their conditions of service, which have been on the table since 2018. It, therefore, gave the government until the end of July to address their concerns. “We have been negotiating with the government about our conditions of service, but it’s been long since we had one. So we thought it wise that it is about time we did. We have been having negotiations on it, but it doesn’t seem to have been fruitful, so we want to begin to get something substantial for our members. We expect the government to be up and doing. If they don’t, the only option left is for us to lay [down] our tools, but no one wants to get on that tangent, Prof. Marfo said. —citinewsroom Please contact Apexnewsgh.com on email apexnewsgh@gmail.com for your credible news publications. Contact: 05555568093