The Senior Staff Association of Public Universities in Ghana (SSA-UoG), has expressed its displeasure in the lackadaisical attitude of government in their negotiations.
Speaking to the media, the National Chairman of the Association, Abdul-Majeed says government has not been forthcoming with its responses as they engage government with their pleas.
He said their demands include the award of a market premium, the payment of Tier 2 arrears from 2010 – 2016, and the migration of payroll of Public Universities unto the Controller and Accountant General’s Payroll System.
According to Abdul-Majeed Yussif, the agencies that matter in putting to bed their demands have not shown any commitment to resolving their issues.
“We have engaged the National Council for Tertiary Education and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission as well. But the pace of the response to our plea is what is quite worrying, but we understand that these are usually to be expected. Most of the people involved in this are politicians, and we are in a political season, so we are not so surprised.”
“But especially with respect to the Tier 2 payment, we are still following up on that. As law-abiding citizens, we have complied with the directives by the Labour Commission. If our grievances are not addressed in time, we reserve the right as workers to wipe out”, he said.
In October this year, the union threatened to embark on a strike over the failure of the government to address the concerns of the Association. But members of the Senior Staff association backed down on their earlier decision to protest the government’s failure to address what they describe as, pertinent labour issues after the National Labour Commission (NLC) secured an injunction against them.
The NLC indicated that it had not been notified of the strike hence, directed the Association to appear before it, but the Association clapped back saying the NLC was fully aware of the ultimatum it gave government.
Aside the above stated demands, the Association noted that, among the concerns of the Association is what they say are “unfavorable policies responsible for the deteriorating conditions of its members.”
The National Chairman said, their demands have always been the same, but it is government’s lack of goodwill which has kept the issues lingering on.
He indicated that, their concern on the issue on migrating the payroll of public universities onto the Controller and Accountant General’s system is starting to make them sound like a broken record, as they have on several occasions echoed the same request.
