A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Gyampo, says they are ready to go to jail and forfeit their salaries in their fight for better conditions of service.

Speaking to MyJoyOnline.com on Thursday, he bemoaned the way government has treated lecturers in their quest for improved working conditions.

According to him, the National Labour Commission (NLC), is toeing the line of government without listening to the plight of lecturers.

Professor Gyampo, therefore, stated that because the forefathers of Ghanaians struggled to acquire freedom, he and his colleagues are willing to suffer any sanction that will be imposed on them as a result of their ongoing strike.

"When the lecturers in all the 15 public universities voted to remain on strike in spite of the ruling of the National Labour Commission, they were aware that the easiest way to compel them to rescind their decision, will be to take them to court.

"But they are resolute and so given the way and manner members are determined to fight this battle to its conclusion, it is possible that leadership of UTAG will be jailed.

It will possible that members will have their salaries suspended. It is possible that other sanctions will be applied. Why am I saying this? Even in military regimes, even when Ghana was being ruled by military dictators, lecturers were not treated the way they are being treated.

"But now, the easiest thing that the Labour Commission will always want to do is to take lecturers to court. Now if you take lecturers to court and they're also resolved to do whatever they'll do to push their demands for better conditions of service, then some of these will happen.

"They may be jailed, their salaries may be suspended, other sanctions applied. But we pledge and we're willing to go by these sanctions", Professor Gyampo said.

Since January 10, the University Teachers Association (UTAG), has been on strike, over the failure of government to redeem its promises to them.

According to the disgruntled lecturers, government has reneged on its obligations thus the industrial action. This they say is despite the several meetings and past discussions between UTAG and government.

The National Labour Commission (NLC) has declared the industrial action illegal and urged UTAG members to return to the classroom.

But after the 15-member campuses of the association held independent emergency meetings, they resolved to ignore the NLC's directive.

Meanwhile, another Political Scientist at the University of Ghana, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante, has expressed worry over the government’s posturing on the strike by UTAG.

Speaking on the AM Show on Wednesday, he called on government to have meaningful discussions with the university lecturers to avoid an escalation of their industrial action.