The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) Ghana has directed it members not to resume work despite the government meeting some of the Union’s demands following TEWU’s call for a nationwide strike.
The Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union’s decision to call for a nationwide strike is in regards to the poor working conditions of its members and a demand for an improved working conditions for its members in various educational institutions nationwide to be met.
The National Executive Council of the Union has accordingly asked of its members not to return to their places of work despite the government meeting some of the Union’s demands in hope that the NEC of the Union will persuade its members to return to their duty while the government continues negotiation with the Union.
Consequently, TEWU Ghana declared that until the government meets all its demands, the Union is unlikely to suspend its industrial action. The Union also stated that, its National Executive Council has not meet with the National Labour Commission (NLC) yet hence, their inability to suspend the strike.
More so, the Union claimed that its demands are beyond the demands of other unions in the educational sector. The Union also asserted that the condition of service provision in relation to the payment of vehicle maintenance allowances to some staff who are members of the TEWU is not being met across the country as some universities refuse to pay these allowances.
Additionally, the National Executive Council of TEWU asserted that the universities which do not pay these allowances argued that the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) has not given them the mandate to pay such allowances to their workers. The Union indicated that the non-payment of these allowances by some universities has created a lot of inconveniences for staff on the various university campuses.
Students To Suffer The Brunt Of Strike
Subsequently, the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union has admitted the consequences of its industrial action on students in the various universities and other tertiary institutions nationwide. The Union however stated that it is unable to do anything about the current situation if the government refuses to meet the rest of its (the Union’s) demands.
Moreover, the Union emphasized that the only means to get government to do what the Union demands of it is through an industrial strike stating that it is the only ‘language the government understands’. The Union stated that the employer (government) must act on the condition of service as stated in the employment agreement drafted by the Parliament of Ghana for university staff employment.
Furthermore, the Union urged the National Labour Commission (NLC) to persuade the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) to ensure that universities that are failing to pay these allowances pay them with arrears to the deserving staff. The Union declared that the non-payment of allowances is a breach of contract and that the employer (government) cannot seek the law on the TEWU if it acts contrary to the law itself.
More so, the Union stressed that, it is only practical to pay staff for the service they provide to the universities. The Union opined that the failure of these universities to pay these allowances is therefore unlawful and must be dealt with accordingly.
To conclude, the call by different labour organizations for their members to embark on an industrial strike has been on the rise as Labour Unions seek for better condition of service for their members. Many of these Labour Unions unfortunately include Unions representing staff of the tertiary institutions nationwide. The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) is one of such Labour Unions that have threatened to embark on an industrial strike if the government fails to reach an agreement on better conditions of service for its members.
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