UTAG still on strike; ignore fake reports – Gyampo

UTAG still on strike is the latest update from the General Secretary of the University of Ghana branch of the University Teachers Association of Ghana, (UTAG) Professor Gyampo. He has strongly dismissed reports that UTAG has suspended its strike action over poor conditions of service.

Reports making rounds on Social Media indicated that UTAG had suspended its two-week strike but Professor Gyampo told Starrfm.com.gh that the reports are fake.

He added that they are still on strike and will only call off the strike when their demands are met. UTAG began an indefinite industrial action last Monday over poor conditions of service and the failure of the government to resolve long-standing grievances.

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The association has been asking the government to restore the conditions of service agreed upon with the government in 2012. The 2012 conditions of service pegged the Basic plus Market Premium of a lecturer at $2,084.42.

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The entry-level salary of a lecturer is less than Ghc 2000 while a professor earns less than Ghc 5000 monthly.

The leadership of UTAG remains resolute with its line of action. It is feared that should the government respond to their demands, other unions will use the same strategy against the government.

A court order obtained ordering them to halt the strike and follow laid down procedures has been ignored by UTAG and its members.

UTAG still on strike as Gyampo says government’s negotiation team is abysmal

The Political Science Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, has described the government’s negotiation team as abysmal and incompetent in their attempts to find a resolution to the strike by the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).

According to Professor Gyampo, the government has been negotiating with the leadership of UTAG for the last 10 years but has failed to find a resolution to their grievances.

“I think there’s a way out in my view [but] some of us have called for an independent third party to intervene because as far as I’m concerned those who have negotiated on government’s behalf have been abysmal and demonstrated much incompetence.