Public Relations Officer of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), Earl Ankrah says the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) did not exhaust all processes as the law demands before embarking on the strike action.

Speaking in an interview with JoyNews, Mr. Earl Ankrah said a strike action is the last option for the Association.

He explained that UTAG should have consulted the Labour Commission first.

“At the beginning of negotiations, we signed rules of engagement. Those rules of engagement state that when you have grievances, when things are not going the way in which you want it to go, there are processes you have to follow. You have to go through the Labour Commission, go through arbitration or mediation and certain levels and then you will come to a conclusion, strike is the very last option. UTAG has not exhausted all these processes,” he said.

According to him, government is yet to engage the Association on the way forward.

“The usual process is that it will end up at the Labour Commission and the Commission would ask them to call off the strike and we will get back to the table,” he added.

UTAG on Monday embarked on indefinite strike action over the government’s failure to address the worsening conditions of service of lecturers.

In a statement dated January 8 to announce the industrial action, UTAG explained that the government has flouted the agreed timelines to address their concerns.

The Association, therefore, directed its members to cease all teaching and learning activities until further notice.