The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has rejected claims by the Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) that disparities in Market Premiums between teaching and non-teaching Senior Members amount to discrimination.

UTAG says differences in remuneration cannot, on their own, be used to establish unfair treatment, arguing that pay structures must reflect differences in qualifications, responsibilities, labour-market conditions and the need to attract and retain specialised professionals.

In a statement issued on Monday, August 10, UTAG cautioned against what it described as a misleading narrative that seeks to pit academics against university administrators.

“A disparity, in and of itself, is not evidence of discrimination. To suggest otherwise is to reduce a complex remuneration question to a simplistic and emotionally charged comparison,” the Association said.

The statement follows the reactivation of a strike by GAUA over disparities in Market Premiums and related allowances between teaching and non-teaching Senior Members.

GAUA has argued that the existing remuneration structure creates significant disparities in the allowances paid to the two categories of university employees.

UTAG, however, said the designation “Senior Member” is an administrative classification and does not erase differences in the nature of work performed by the various professional groups.

It said factors such as qualifications, recruitment requirements, retention pressures, career obligations, promotion structures and the scarcity of particular skills must be considered when determining remuneration.

“Fairness does not mean sameness. Equity does not require uniformity,” UTAG stated.

The Association said Market Premiums should be based on objective and defensible criteria, including the complexity of work, qualifications required, external labour-market competitiveness and the strategic importance of particular expertise to universities.

“Public pressure, rhetoric, and grievance alone cannot substitute for objective job evaluation,” it added.

UTAG also rejected arguments based solely on the harmonised 114% Market Premium structure that existed under the Single Spine Salary Structure in 2012.

It said compensation systems evolve over time and that previous harmonisation cannot be used to prevent all subsequent differentiation in remuneration.

“A past point of harmonisation cannot be invoked as a permanent argument against all subsequent differentiation,” UTAG said.

While the Association maintained that it was not opposed to improved conditions of service for non-teaching Senior Members, it rejected the argument that fairness could only be achieved by making remuneration uniform across different occupational groups.

UTAG is instead calling on the government, Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Ministry of Education, National Labour Commission and other stakeholders to undertake an independent review of the remuneration structure for Senior Members in public universities.

The review, it said, should examine qualifications, workloads, responsibilities, labour-market comparators, promotion structures, retention challenges and total compensation across the various occupational categories.

“That is the only serious path to a settlement that is fair, defensible, and capable of commanding public confidence,” UTAG said.

The Association also urged both sides to avoid rhetoric that could further strain relations between teaching and non-teaching staff.

“Labour issues of this nature must be addressed with sobriety, evidence, and institutional maturity. The question is not who matters more in the university. The question is whether the remuneration attached to each professional category can be objectively justified,” it said.

The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and the Ministry of Education are yet to publicly respond to UTAG’s call for an independent review.

UTAG said it remains committed to engagement and responsible union leadership while stressing the need to protect industrial harmony and the long-term stability of Ghana’s public university system.