By Frances Dorothy Ward
Kumasi, 0ct. 22. GNA – A group of University Lecturers have appealed to the leadership of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) to call off the on-going strike.
The UTAG is currently on strike against the government on the illegal mining (galamsey) activities, which had polluted water bodies and destroyed forest reserves in some parts of the country.
However, some members of UTAG are against the action and said UTAG needed to ensure a more collaborative dialogue with the government on the illegal mining issue.
They said there were strong reasons why the strike must be called off, after dialogue and several actions taken by the government to halt the menace.
Dr. Owusu Fordjour Aidoo and Dr. Jonathan Osei-Owusu, both lecturers at the University of Environment and Sustainable Development (UESD), at Somanya in the eastern region, who issued a press statement on behalf of the concerned lecturers, pointed out that, the action was unnecessary.
According to them, should workers of other institutions such as those in the health and education sectors also decide to take a unilateral decision to embark on industrial action on the galamsey issue, there would be chaos in the country.
The lecturers admitted that illegal mining had resulted in devastating consequences on the environment and human lives and brought more other serious problems to the Ghanaian society.
However, it was important for UTAG to have constructive negotiations with the government, grounded on goodwill, as had been done by organized labour, to agree on an amicable solution.
This, they emphasized, would not only fulfil UTAG’s professional responsibilities, but also establish a precedence for effective engagement in the future.
The lecturers highlighted that universities should be at the fore front of the fight against illegal mining and must help develop solutions to national issues rather than resorting to strikes, which affected the country’s economy.
“UTAG must help develop scientific and technological innovations in research to help the government to solve the ‘Galamsey ‘issues,” they added.
They said the academia needed to rise and play its role to complement government’s efforts in combating illegal mining and calling off the strike would enable UTAG to explore innovative means to achieve its objectives without impacting negative consequences on innocent students.
Students bear the brunt to these disruptions, they added.
They said their continued action would strain relations between the union and the government and other stakeholders, which could also reduce the credibility of UTAG as a professional body.
The Lecturers also called on the government and Non -Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to set up Environmental Research Fund to help to solve environmental issues and called on leaders including traditional authorities, the media, and the public to get on board the fight against the menace, to save the environment.
GNA