UTAG threatens nationwide strike

Members of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) have notified the National Labour Commission (NLC), that they will begin a nationwide strike within two weeks over market premium arrears.
The National Executive Committee of UTAG said its members have decided to withdraw their services because government has failed to follow the payment schedule of their 2012 market premium arrears.

In April this year, UTAG called off a strike embarked on to press home its demand for 16 months' unpaid allowances after government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with them to pay.

According to UTAG the agreement was that government will pay four months' accumulated arrears every month for four months, starting from April.

However, UTAG members claim government has failed to respect the MoU.

President of UTAG, Dr Anthony Simmons said “The end of this month [July] will be the end for the timetable for the end of the 16 months' arrears to be paid and so we need to take an action”.

He said even though the UTAG leadership had sent government a letter reminding it of the MoU, there has not been a response.

“I made personal contacts with some of the Ministers, and they promised that they were going to speak to the Chief of Staff and his Excellency the President and come back to us only to be told that there is no money”, the UTAG President said.

Dr Simmons said the timing of government’s communication of its inability to pay them was a “slap in the face”, because it is only two-weeks to the payment schedule deadline.

Source: Myjoyonline/Ghana