Prof. Gyampo: UTAG’s Indefinite Strike Suspension Is A Tactical Retreat
The Secretary of the University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UG UTAG), Professor Ransford Gyampo has alluded to the indefinite suspension of the UTAG strike as a tactical retreat since the demands of the association haven’t been resolved by the government.
“To this end, we warn that should the government fail to honour its obligations under the temporary arrangement and the future substantive arrangement, no one will be able to contain the anger of our members. No one will cow us into submission. No eminent Ghanaian will beg. No pastor will plead and no student will wail. We will fight every infantile attempt to use state institutions to intimidate us.”
Prof. Gyampo pointed out that the UTAG members “are now a force to reckon with, and that we mean business in our fight for better Conditions of Service”.
He noted that gone are the days when UTAG members looked only to the heavens for their reward. According to him, teachers will receive their reward on earth and in the hereafter. “We won’t teach people to be rich and be impoverished by the very act that makes people rich.”
According to him, members of the UTAG have rejected the government’s interim proposals on how to temporarily address the association’s concerns nevertheless, he said, “ we have appealed to them to accept them as temporary interventions for the academic year. In response, they have made a series of recommendations that they expect to be reflected in whatever agreement that may be signed. These recommendations have been submitted to the government and we expect that they will be incorporated into all relevant documentation.”
The Political Science Professor also charged the National Labour Commission to be proactive “as an independent arbiter, else, we are more than ready to engage it in a fierce battle on all fronts, the next time, to make it moribund”.
The UTAG declared an industrial action on February 10, 2022, over the poor conditions of Service of its members. The strike was suspended on February 21, 2022, to make way for negotiations between the Employer (government) and the association.
Subsequently, the UTAG has announced the indefinite suspension of the strike following an agreement between the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the UTAG and the employer to go by an interim proposal tabled by the latter and implement the Market Premium and/or review the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2023.
Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini
