The National Labour Commission (NLC) has issued a directive instructing the Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU), affiliated with the Trades Union Congress, as well as the Senior Staff Association of Public Universities and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff, to immediately cease their ongoing strike.
The National Labour Commission argued that the compliance with this directive is crucial for meaningful negotiations on the various demands raised by the striking teacher unions.
Following a high-stakes meeting between the NLC and the unions, Ofosu Asamoah, the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC), addressed journalists, revealing that substantial progress had been made in addressing some of the concerns presented by the unions.
Notably, he emphasized that the resolution of the remaining outstanding issue is contingent upon the unions calling off their strike action.
“By law, if you are still on strike, you can’t negotiate. The law frowns on it. You can’t even wear red bands. It is intimidating. You brought up three issues, and two have been solved. The first one, your allowances, has been resolved; the UMAT and the UCC issues have been solved. The third one, which is in issue, the party against whom you are says I am guilty; however, let’s sit down and know how to correct it”.
Ofosu Asamoah, the Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission (NLC)
The Executive Secretary of the National Labour Commission indicated that his outfit has issued directives for the Ministry of Finance to engage in discussions and resolve the ongoing labour dispute with teacher unions by the 1st of February.
According to him, the development follows a meeting between the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), affiliated with the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The call for the strike cessation by the NLC has legal implications, as stated by Ofosu Asamoah, the Executive Secretary of the NLC, who emphasized that negotiations cannot proceed while the unions are on strike.
Mr Asamoah highlighted that two out of the three issues raised by the unions have already been resolved, with the remaining matter requiring a sit-down to address and correct.
TEWU Leadership To Consult Members On Strike Decision
Meanwhile, Mark Korankye, the General Secretary of Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) has indicated that a meeting would be convened with union members, possibly on Thursday or Friday, to discuss the latest developments and decide on the next course of action.
According to Mr Korankye, the National Labour Commission has mandated the Ministry of Finance to urgently address the matters at hand while the Government Transitional Employment Committee (GTEC) has been directed to resolve issues concerning overtime and related concerns.
“To the unions, the Commission says to call off your strike. Before we can make any pronouncement on that since we are only representatives here, we have to go and confirm with our rank and file and other leaders who are not here. So we are going to call a meeting of our members probably tomorrow or Friday, and then we will discuss what transpired here”
Mark Korankye, the General Secretary of Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU)
The ongoing strike by teacher unions, including Teachers and Educational Workers Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress, the Senior Staff Association of Public Universities, and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff, was initiated in protest against the government’s perceived negligence of issues related to pensions and the alleged unjust termination of their overtime allowances.
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