The President of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Professor Solomon Nunoo, has explained that the interest of the association is in resolving the issue of salaries that has occurred over the past nine years.

According to him, UTAG’s interest isn’t dependent on the Labour Market survey as it is being purported. Prof Nunoo explained that currently the market premium the Association is receiving is because there was a “freeze on” the market premium and it has become an “absolute value” which is just about 50% of the basic salary.

Responding to statements made by the CEO of the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, Benjamin Arthur, Prof Nunoo clarified issues pertaining to the government’s “white paper” on market premium. The government, he indicated, talks about the fact that the same “market premium” needs to be worked on every five years, a matter which Prof Nunoo intimated has not been done so far.

“… The interest is not in the receiving of the Labour Market Survey report, but our interest is in solving the erosion of our salaries that has happened over the past 9 years. In 2013 the market premium that we were receiving was actually a 114% of our basic salary… So, you’ll notice that there has been a huge erosion when you talk about the money we’re receiving in terms of our market premium at the moment”.
Professor Solomon Nunoo

The UTAG President decried government’s failure to implement an agreement signed last year concerning their research allowance. This, he expressed, weakens the Association’s faith in the government’s speeches on its ability to meet UTAG’s demands. However, he urged his members to call off the strike.

“So, the issues we discussed at the meeting, basically it had to do with the research allowance, the fact that we had signed the document from October 6th up till today, today is the 10th of January 2022, we have still not received the difference in research allowance we were supposed to be paid… Also, with research allowances, gone were the days that it was always paid in May or June of the applicable year. Last year, we received our research allowance well into October before the money started trickling in slowly. And so, these are things that we needed to talk about”.
Professor Solomon Nunoo

UTAG urged to involve third party in negotiations

On his part, Labour Consultant, Austin Gamey, urged UTAG and government representative the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, to consider involving a third party in their negotiations.

According to him, they have no choice because eventually the two parties will have to talk. He noted that once there’s no talking, there’ll certainly be no solution.

Mr Gamey emphasized that taking into consideration the strong position of both parties involved in the negotiation process, it is crucial to try a new approach which involves a third party.

“Sometimes it is better to have maybe a third party. I agree the National Labour Commission is there, but it does seem as if there is some kind of mistrust also from one side to the labour commission. That notwithstanding, it’s an institution that we have in place and I believe in them, however wrong they might be for now, I want to say that they can submit themselves to them or the two parties can also agree to have the services of whosoever they want to sit between them and drive the process of the negotiation”.
Austin Gamey

Mr Gamey concluded that by this act, they may reach an agreement because he reckons it’s a “solvable situation” they have on their hands.