Engaging UTAG leadership without members will yield no positive results – Gyampo to NLC

The Secretary of the University of Ghana chapter of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Prof. Ransford Gyampo says, it is almost impossible to settle the ongoing strike without the direct input of members of the union.

He explains that, the continuous meetings between the National Labour Commission (NLC) and the leadership of UTAG have always ended in a stalemate because the leadership have had challenges agreeing on negotiations during such discussions.

His comments come after a High Court for the second time ordered the two parties to return to the negotiation table for an amicable solution to the impasse.

But speaking on Eyewitness News, Prof. Gyampo said the way-forward is to allow the striking lecturers join leadership at every step of the negation processes.

“The calibre of people UTAG leadership preside over are university lecturers and professors. No decision is taken without the constituents. So whether a promise is made and accepted or not is contingent on the members. It appears many political elites do not get this. There is a fundamental misunderstanding of the full problem that we are grappling with. Now, it is about the members and not the leaders.”

Prof. Gyampo further made a point that, leaders of UTAG have in some cases been impeached for agreeing to terms unfavorable to members thus, the current leadership is having a tough time dealing with the ongoing situation.

“So if you meet the leaders and you talk to them, they are helpless with helping unless they go back to their members to solicit their views. So  if there is a promise that is made, you would have to go back to the members, it is what they say that will be carried out.  So it is more complicated and complex than we think. So for me, the best approach to handle this is for an effort to be made to reach out to members”, he added.

The NLC and UTAG are still struggling to iron out their issues over the latter’s five-week-old strike.

While the NLC has ruled the strike as illegal and ordered the lecturers back to the lecture hall, UTAG defied the order while insisting on its due.

UTAG has subsequently engaged the government through the Ministry of Education.

The Court on Thursday urged the parties to return to the engagements and, adjourned to Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

The two parties were previously told by the court to settle the impasse out of court.

The NLC sued, seeking the enforcement of its order which was defied by public university teachers in the country.

NLC earlier directed UTAG to call off its strike, but this directive was not adhered to.

The teachers had defied the NLC’s order while insisting on a resolution of their demands.

The strike has brought academic work to a halt on public tertiary university campuses and threatens to distort the academic calendar.

UTAG’s demands

UTAG has been on strike since January 10 to force the government to restore the conditions of service agreed upon in 2012.

The 2012 conditions of service pegged the Basic plus Market Premium of a lecturer at $2,084.42.

UTAG has complained that the current arrangement has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84.