By Albert Futukpor
Tamale, Jan. 23, GNA – The Tertiary Education Workers Union of Ghana (TEWUG) has expressed support for the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana (SSA-UoG) to secure fair wages and improved working conditions.
This was contained in a statement issued by TEWUG signed by Sulemana Abdul-Rahman, its chairman, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale on Tuesday.
The statement said the labour unions in the public universities wrote to National Labour Commission (NLC) in October 2023, demanding implementation of a ruling by NLC concerning payment of Vehicle Maintenance Allowance, Off-Campus Allowance, payment of Tier 2 pension funds and payment of Overtime/Extra duty Allowance to deserving staff in the public universities.
It said the public universities that were affected for not receiving the fixed Overtime/Extra Duty Allowance included UCC, UMaT and UESD.
It said instead of paying the deserving staff of the affected public universities, the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC) and Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), wrote to the public universities to stop them from paying the deserving staff their Overtime/Extra Duty Allowances.
It expressed disappointment at the failure of the NLC/Government to respect the ruling and address the demands of the labour unions at the public universities namely; Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), TEWUG, and SSA-UoG.
The statement said: “TEWUG is by this statement requesting GTEC and FWSC to retract the said directives and to restore the overtime payment to the deserving staff as soon as possible to avoid any further possible agitations on the universities’ Campuses.”
It said: “These situations have made Public University workers very unhappy in the face of the current economic conditions in the nation, and we call on the Employer to urgently address the differences to forestall the hardships faced by the affected workers.”
It urged members to remain calm and steadfast, saying: “We will resist any attempt by the Employer to vary the terms of the agreed Conditions of Service without due process.”
GNA