The Secretary of the University of Ghana (UG) chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has entreated the National Labour Commission (NLC) to seek the inputs of UTAG members in the ongoing discussions about their strike.

Prof. Ransford Gyampo said due to some impeachment cases previous UTAG leadership faced over some unfavourable decisions, the current leaders may find it difficult to reach consensus without the active participation of their members.

“The calibre of people UTAG leadership preside over are university lecturers and professors. No decision is taken without the constituents. So whether a promise is made and accepted or not is contingent on the members.”

“It appears many political elites do not get this. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the full problem that we are grappling with. Now, it is about the members and not the leaders. So for me, the best approach to handle this is for an effort to be made to reach out to members”, he said in interview on Accra-based Citi FM, Thursday.

He made these comments in relation to the various meetings between UTAG and the NLC which ended in a stalemate.

For the second time, the Labour Division of the High Court directed the parties to settle the strike impasse out of court after the five-week deadlock which gives the industrial action no end in sight.

But according the Prof. Gyampo, “if you meet the leaders and you talk to them, they are helpless with helping, unless they go back to their members to solicit their views; if there is a promise that is made, you would have to go back to the members, it is what they say that will be carried out. So, it is more complicated and complex than we think.”

The five-week old strike by UTAG has brought academic work and activities to a halt.

There have been calls by some university students and education think tanks for universities to close down due to the industrial action which they believe has thrown the academic calendar out of gear.