1National President of TUTAG, Dr Solomon Keelson
The Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) has called off its nationwide strike. This follows an interim injunction on the industrial action secured by the National Labour Commission (NLC).
Calling off the strike, the association in a statement said its decision was a “demonstration of good faith which must be reciprocated by all stakeholders.”
It, however, expressed disappointment in how the NLC has handled the whole strike action adding that it was “disappointed in how the NLC refused to go to court to enforce their 28 October 2019 ruling against the government but found it expedient to go to court for enforcement against TUTAG on its 8 January 2020 ruling.”
Strike Action
The Technical Universities Teacher Union laid down its tools indefinitely on January 6, 2020. This according to TUTAG was in protest of the non-payment of allowances due its members following the conversion of polytechnics to technical universities.
It also raised concerns with book and research allowance arrears as well as issues with the non-basic salary allowance for public university lecturers.
The association was outraged that the government did not comply with a ruling by the NLC to ensure that members of the association started receiving allowances due them from December 2019, January 2020 and February 2020.
TUAAG Strike
Subsequently the Technical Universities Administrators Association of Ghana (TUAAG) also joined the strike demanding full benefits of migration onto the public universities’ salary structure
NLC’s Action
The NLC met with TUTAG, the Ministries of Finance, Education, Employment and Labour Relations, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Controller and Accountant‘s General’s Department and assured that the government would be working to migrate qualified TUTAG members to the single spine pay structure and pay them their allowances by January 29.
The commission also directed among other things that six out of the eight Technical Universities who submitted their data to the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) will be paid their salaries together with the allowances by 29th January 2020.
It further directed that the two technical Universities (Sunyani and Tamale) who are yet to submit their data should do so latest by 17th January 2020 to enable the government to pay their salaries and allowances at the end of February 2020.
The Commission also directed that with this intervention, the TUTAG shall call off their strike with immediate effect and return to work strongly advised them to continue negotiation on the outstanding issues in good faith.
Realising TUTAG’s unwillingness to pay heed to the directives, following the meeting, the commission went to court to compel them to call off the strike action.
