Senior Staff of Universities threaten to intensify strike if their demands are not met

The leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana say they are considering intensifying their three-week-old strike to other departments under their umbrella.

The leadership of the Association, on Tuesday, met a delegation from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations to look into their demands for the payment of their outstanding Tier-2 pension contributions and improved conditions of service but that meeting ended inconclusively.

The industrial action commenced after the Association claimed the government had consistently failed to address their concerns.

Speaking to Citi News, the National President of the group, Zakariah Mohammed, says the government has failed to adequately address their concerns.

“We are not content with how the government has handled our issue so far, we are becoming more and more frustrated.”

“The next line of action is for us to meet with the National Executive Council to discuss the way forward. Mind you, we left out the security and the staff who work in the hospitals and clinics of the various campuses, among others. With the way things are going, agitations are getting higher and if care is not taken, we may add members with those other departments. It means that we are going to intensify the strike action, by involving other members who were exempted from the strike action,” he warned.

The association embarked on its current nationwide strike on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, over the failure of the government to pay their Tier 2 pension.

Among other things, they are asking for the payment of market premiums and non-basic allowances as well as the finalisation of negotiations for their conditions of service.

The Association previously held a strike in January, 2021, but its members returned to work in February after the National Labour Commission (NLC) secured a court injunction compelling them to resume their duties while negotiations with government continued.