Striking UTAG members not disturbed by court injunction

Members of the Association of University Teachers of Ghana (UTAG) will not be intimidated by the recent court order directing them to return to work, according to the National Executive Committee (NEC).

The NEC said university professors were not afraid to stand up for their rights and therefore the court injunction obtained by the National Labor Commission (NLC) to force them to drop their industrial action would not force them not to return to work.

Members had since Monday, August 02, deposited their tools to demand an improvement in their conditions of service.

The ongoing strike had resulted in the cancellation of end-of-semester exams at most public universities.

Professor Charles Marfo, national president of UTAG, told media in Kumasi that university professors were determined to continue the strike if their concerns were not taken into account by the government.

“We are not afraid to fight for our rights because university professors have been taken for granted for far too long,” he said.

On August 6, 2021, the NLC obtained an interlocutory injunction against the UTAG to prevent management, executives, officers, members and agents from continuing the ongoing collective action.

According to the lawsuit, professors at the university were to comply with the directive from the Labor Commission and return to work as soon as possible.

However, UTAG members said they were not moved by the latest developments and that industrial action would not be abandoned until the government responded positively to their demands.

In defiance of the lawsuit, the UTAG in a recent resolution of all 13-member campuses reinforced the decision to continue the ongoing strike.

The 15-page document, signed by Dr Eric Abavare, the national secretary, said the withdrawal from teaching and other related activities must continue until the government comes up with an acceptable roadmap to exit. of the dead end.