The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has announced the indefinite suspension of its industrial strike action.
This followed an emergency meeting by UTAG’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday to evaluate their strike which was temporarily suspended in February.
Prior to this, meetings held between the leadership of UTAG, Parliament’s Education Committee, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Education Minister, and the Labour Minister had ended conclusively.
But the development was contained in a statement jointly signed by the National President, Prof Solomon Nunoo and the Secretary Dr Asare Asante-Annor.
The statement indicated the leadership was aware of the level of disappointment and dissatisfaction of members on the proposals to deal with their demands.
However, the NEC of UTAG has appealed to members to remain calm and accept these proposals as interim measures, as it works to ensure that they remain as such and ends in December 2022.
“The NEC of UTAG promises to monitor and police the full implementation of all agreements with the Employer and to work with clear timelines and roadmaps to ensure that all promises and agreements are respected.
“There would no longer be reactionary measures but proactive interventions that would not wait till matters get out of hand before resorting to industrial actions,” the statement assured.
UTAG wants the 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.
Statesmen such as former President John Agyekum Kufuor, Sam Jonah, some Vice-Chancellors among others had also weighed in and pleaded for the lecturers to return to the classroom.