The National President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Prof. Solomon Nunoo says the Association has scheduled to engage its members on the possible resumption of work.

Speaking in an interview, Prof. Solomon Nunoo noted that despite calls by the Education Committee in Parliament and the public for lecturers to resume academic activities, the government has not done enough in terms of negotiations.

According to him, government’s failure to negotiate significantly has made it difficult to convince lecturers to suspend their strike.

“When it comes to going back to the lecture halls, we came up with a particular request, and not much has been done by our employers. All the same, we need to have a meeting to evaluate the whole process. There was a court injunction, there was a call from the Education Committee and the public, so these are things we need to discuss with our members, but beyond that nothing is on the table from our employers in terms of negotiation.

“All that they have said is that negotiation can commence after the strike has been suspended. They have not said anything. Since there is nothing, it makes the work extremely difficult but all the same, we believe it is important that we bring it to the attention of our members then we see the way forward,” he told Citinews.

UTAG has been on strike for over six weeks to mount pressure on the government for better conditions of service.

Injunction

On Tuesday, February 15, the Labour Division of the Accra High Court placed an injunction on the strike by the university lecturers.

The order from the Court follows an appeal by the National Labour Commission (NLC) for an interlocutory injunction to suspend the strike by UTAG while negotiations continue.

The NLC dragged UTAG to court after attempts to have UTAG call off its strike failed. The lecturers are expected to halt the strike until the Court determines the substantive application by the NLC.

UTAG’s demands

UTAG wants government to restore their 2012 conditions of service, which pegged the monthly income of entry-level lecturers at $2,084.

The Association has complained that the current arrangement has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84.

UTAG has been on strike since January 10, 2022, over the government’s failure to review its conditions of service since 2017.

Students continue to suffer the repercussions as the lecturers have refused to back down on their demands.