General Secretary of the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), Mr. Mark Denkyira Korankye, has bemoaned government’s reluctance to address the Union’s condition of service to aid teaching and learning in the public Universities.
According to him, government must respond to the concerns of TEWU in the Public Universities to avoid any further disruption of academic work on the campuses.
Mr Korankye further expressed concerns about the way the Union has been neglected over its condition of service for over two years.
“Since January when we embarked on our industrial action, the National Labour Commission invited us and the other negotiating parties and charged us to go back and re-enter negotiations.”
“… we re-entered negotiation on two major items, which are the non-basic allowance and the exposure to eminent hazard allowance”.
Mark Denkyira Korankye
Additionally, TEWU’s General Secretary explained that after engaging in a series of meetings, the government’s team continued to maintain its stance of offering eight per cent on its non-basic allowance.
This, he noted, was an earlier offered made by the Chief of Staff in January 2021. However, Mr Korankye revealed that the rate was not in sync with the tenet of negotiation.
Technical committee set up to probe TEWU’s concerns
Following this, he indicated that on the advice of the Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, a Technical Committee was set up. The committee, he revealed, was intended to look at various options and make recommendations to the Minister on the way forward on the issue.
Mr Korankye maintained that the Committee completed the assignment and recommended between 10 to 15 per cent increment on the Union’s non-basic allowance.
That notwithstanding, he revealed that government’s delay in implementing the recommendations has caused harm to his members.
“Despite our resolve to pursue constructive engagement with all stakeholders in addressing our concerns, the posture of feet dragging by government agencies, tend to point to the obvious consequence of labour unrest”.
Mark Denkyira Korankye
He further intimated that the Union has on several occasions objected to the situation where stakeholders reckon issues of non-teaching staff as secondary matter.
Particularly, he explained that this pertained in discussions on policies, conditions of service and other interventions in the educational sector.
The impression, he stated, was created as though only the teacher group was critical in ensuring conducive teaching and learning environment.
Government urged to expedite implementation of conditions of service
TEWU has over the time demanded better condition of service from the government. In May this year, the Union called on government to facilitate the implementation of the reviewed conditions of service for TEWU members.
The Union expressed concerns about the delay in the process, citing the outbreak of Covid-19 which “has stretched workers all over to their limits”.
According to the Union, any attempt to prevent them from enjoying what’s secured under the reviewed conditions of service, will provoke anger.
It further called on the National Tripartite Committee to fast track the processes for the necessary upward review of salary for the year 2021.
This, the Union explained, was necessary because prices of goods and services are increasing on a daily basis, but salaries have not been increased.
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