Parliament’s Education Committee is expected to meet with the leadership of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) within this week to bring finality to the impasse between the union and government.

The Committee announced this decision last week after the Labour Division of the High Court directed the National Labour Commission and UTAG to return to the negotiation table and resolve the impasse for the second time.

Ranking Member on Education Committee in Parliament, Peter Nortsu Kotoe said the meeting is necessary to prevent the shutdown of public universities.

“It is necessary for the committee to come into the matter because the university may shut down any moment from now.”

“We will send them [UTAG] an invitation so that we can meet with them and listen to them and make appeals to both sides to resolve the differences quickly,” he told Citinews.

UTAG has been on strike for over five weeks demanding that government restore the 2012 conditions of service which put entry level lecturers on a monthly pay of $2,084.42.

The NLC declared the strike action as illegal and ordered UTAG to return to the lecture halls. Despite the directive, the University Teachers went ahead with their strike action and this compelled the NLC to drag UTAG to court.

But the Court ordered both parties to return to the negotiation table.

 UTAG’s demands

UTAG wants the government to reconsider the payment of its annual research allowance to a more realistic allowance “as this is critical to our research output, promotion and ultimately national development.”

They also want the 2013 Interim Market Premium (IMP) of 114% on Basic Salary restored.

The Association had bemoaned the current salary arrangement which has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84 instead of the 2012 conditions of service which put entry level lecturers on a monthly pay of $2,084.42.