Secretary of the University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UG UTAG), Prof. Ransford Gyampo says the deceitful and cunning strategies of the government in dealing with conditions of services of lectures motivated the strike action by the university teachers.

Speaking on the AM Show on Joy News, Professor Gyampo noted that over the years, the government has not been honest in dealing with the demands of the university teachers.

He said the government has deployed cunning ways against the teachers for far too long.

“It is the machiavellian tactics and the use of cunning ways, lies and deceits that sometimes even cause anger amongst our constituents and they give directives as to what we should do,” he explained.

He said the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission had earlier denied the Association of reports on the Labour Market Survey. However, the commission later decided to present the report to the Association after it was informed of the strike action.

“When we said we were going to go on strike, we didn’t hear anything. We waited about three days to the time and they said come and let us do a presentation of the labour market survey results to you. We had already written to them that if you say you are conducting a labour market survey and you’re done give us the report.

"We are intellectuals, we have the mental capacity to be able to read and to digest and understand. They told us no, we won’t give you the report then when we said we are going to go on a strike, they said tomorrow come and let us do a presentation for you to appreciate what is there and these are all part of the Machiavellian ways that they have over the years deployed against teachers,” he added.

Prof. Gyampo contended that the current crop of university teachers are ready to fight for better conditions of service.

“But now the crop of university teachers we have are not what we had then. Now the crop of university teachers we have are now ready to go the full way to fight for better conditions of service,” he said.

Meanwhile, a meeting has been scheduled between the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the National Labour Commission (NLC) for Thursday.

The meeting, supposed to have taken place on Wednesday, will discuss the conditions of service demanded by UTAG, the failure of stakeholders to stick to an earlier agreement and consider the “hearing of the issues in dispute."