The Local Chairman of the Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWU-Ghana), Charles Arthur, has announced that the union is postponing its planned strike over unpaid vehicle allowances.
This decision follows a meeting with the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, on March 4, 2025.
Expressing satisfaction with the outcome, Arthur stated, “We are holding off on the strike for now.”
He explained, “The conclusion was that since we are at the Labour Commission, we should allow the commission to rule on the eligibility criteria, which has caused all these problems for GTEC to implement the stoppage. In addition to that, the Minister also said GTEC will continue to engage us and explore the way forward.”
In August 2024, TEWU-Ghana, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and other stakeholders agreed on the payment of vehicle maintenance allowances to junior staff at tertiary institutions.
The allowance was introduced to support junior staff who use their vehicles for official duties.
However, GTEC recently announced plans to withdraw the allowance as part of austerity measures to cut the public sector wage bill.
Despite the earlier agreements, GTEC directed heads of tertiary institutions to halt the payments, prompting the union to demand a reversal and threaten industrial action if the decision stands.
