The General Secretary of Ghana of The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), Mr Charles Kojo Aidoo, has argued that university administrators deserve compensation based on their professional responsibilities, qualifications and experience. He explained that job evaluation should determine market premiums across public universities rather than placing teaching and non-teaching professionals within an unequal compensation structure.
Mr Aidoo noted that university professionals perform distinct duties which require specialised training and professional certification. He cited accountants, architects and other specialists who require professional qualifications alongside postgraduate education before securing positions within the university system.
According to the General Secretary, the qualifications of non-teaching professionals are sometimes overlooked when their compensation is compared with teaching staff. He explained that an administrator may possess both a master’s degree and a professional qualification while receiving lower financial recognition than an academic with a different qualification.
The disparity, he added, becomes more significant when responsibility and experience are considered. A proper evaluation, in his view, should assess the complexity of duties, professional skills, experience and educational background before determining the appropriate market premium.
“We are not competing ourselves with anybody. We are saying: give us what we deserve. A market premium is determined by job evaluation.”
Mr Charles Kojo Aidoo
Mr Aidoo argued that the principle of job evaluation provides a fair basis for assessing the contribution of different professionals within public universities. He emphasised that GAUA members possess the combination of expertise and experience required to perform demanding institutional duties.
Referencing the structure of university employment, the General Secretary explained that teaching staff are employed primarily to undertake academic responsibilities while administrators manage specialised functions that keep institutions operational. Accountants oversee financial systems while architects, engineers, lawyers, doctors and human resource professionals perform duties requiring specialised knowledge.
The issue therefore extends beyond academic qualifications to the responsibilities attached to each position. From his view, compensation must take into account the value and complexity of the work performed by every professional group.
Mr Aidoo also challenged the practice of determining market premiums without a comprehensive assessment of the roles involved. He suggested that the absence of a consistent evaluation framework could produce disparities that become increasingly difficult to justify within the university environment.
Strike Disrupts Key University Services As Talks Resume
The strike by members of the Ghana Association of University Administrators has affected a wide range of essential services across Ghana’s public universities. Mr Aidoo explained that the association brings together professionals whose duties support finance, admissions, procurement, human resources, legal services, health care and several other university operations.
The scale of the action means several administrative processes are currently affected across the institutions. According to the General Secretary, salary processing, payments, new admissions, procurement activities, promotions and appointments form part of the services being disrupted.
The impact also extends into professional services provided by engineers, architects, lawyers and medical practitioners working within public universities. Faculty officers responsible for supporting academic units are also participating in the industrial action.
“All the accountants in the university, meaning that salaries are not going to be processed. All admissions, new admissions are not going to be processed. All procurement are not going to be processed.”
Mr Charles Kojo Aidoo
The disruption has therefore created implications for both administrative productivity and routine services on university campuses. Students, staff and institutional managers depend on several of these functions for the smooth running of academic activities.
Addressing the negotiations with government, Mr Aidoo explained that GAUA has been seeking a new conditions of service while also pursuing improvements in allowances and market premiums. He indicated that the association has operated without a conditions of service agreement since 2008.
The negotiations, according to him, produced an understanding on adjustments to some allowances. However, the association later received communication from the Ministry of Finance presenting the approved arrangements in a form that GAUA considered different from the terms discussed during negotiations.
A major disagreement centres on the classification of the allowances involved. Mr Aidoo explained that GAUA negotiated modest adjustments to specific allowances while the subsequent communication presented the changes as an increase in market premiums.
Referencing the negotiations, he argued that the distinction matters because market premiums are subject to a particular negotiation process. The association therefore wants the terms agreed during discussions to guide the implementation of the arrangements.
The Fair Wages and Salaries Commission and other government agencies have consequently become part of the dispute surrounding the implementation process. Mr Aidoo argued that the association expected greater consistency between the negotiations and the final administrative decisions.
“We went into negotiation in good faith, believing that the other party was also negotiating in good faith.”
Mr Charles Kojo Aidoo
Meanwhile, the association has opened a channel for further discussions with the Ministry of Education. Mr Aidoo disclosed that the Minister for Education invited the union to a meeting where members would present their grievances and discuss possible steps towards resolving the dispute.
The invitation has provided an opportunity for direct engagement between the government and the association. The General Secretary indicated that GAUA intends to attend the meeting and present its position while recognising the economic circumstances facing the country.
Beyond the Education Ministry, the association has also engaged university authorities as part of efforts to communicate its position. Meetings have taken place with registrars and finance officers while further discussions with vice chancellors are scheduled.
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