[ad_1]
President Akufo-Addo hopes government agencies and the Association of University Teachers of Ghana (UTAG) will reach a binding agreement to address the teachers’ union grievances.
“We are all happy that UTAG suspended the strike after long negotiations and we hope that a binding agreement will be reached, because a roadmap has been established and we hope that both sides will ensure the implementation of the roadmap.
It is in the interests of all of us that there is no disruption of the academic calendar in our higher education institutions and that teachers have what it takes to be able to fulfill this important obligation to train the next. generation of leaders, because it is in our best interests, ”said the President during a meeting with UTAG management at Jubilee House on Thursday.
UTAG has agreed to take action to suspend the ongoing strike while the Ministry of Employment and Industrial Relations, in collaboration with the National Labor Commission (NLC), takes action to end all proceedings. legal proceedings against the Association.
UTAG has been on strike in recent weeks, calling on the government to restore the terms of service agreed to in 2012, which they say are much better than what currently exists.
The 2012 Single Spine package grants entry-level speakers a salary of $ 2,084, while the current level places speaker salaries around $ 900.
A memorandum of understanding signed by the government and UTAG, referred to by JoyNews after the meeting, said that “both sides agree that it is necessary to return to the negotiating table from the week starting Monday 23 August 2021”.
During the period, the government and UTAG will negotiate, among other things, the research component of the book and research allocation, the market premium and the non-fundamental allocation.
At the end of the deliberations, the parties agreed on the following:
1. That both parties (government and UTAG) agree that it is necessary to return to the negotiating table from the week beginning Monday 23 August 2021.
2. That a roadmap for the negotiations, as agreed in previous consultative meetings between the parties, which imposes a mandatory deadline of one month from 23 August 2021 for the negotiations, be signed by both parties;
3. That while the Department of Employment and Labor Relations, in collaboration with the NLC, take steps to end all legal proceedings against UTAG, UTAG will also take steps to suspend the strike in progress ;
4. That the government recognize the need to improve the working conditions of university professors and treat this issue with all the seriousness it deserves.
NUGS President Emmanuel Yiadom Boakye called on President Akufo-Addo to intervene personally.
“We, the students, are the victims of this strike and it is in this respect that we want to ask you, Mr. President, to intervene personally and to ensure that the two parties do not enter into negotiations with a strong position, because such a posture will not help the students, ”he pleaded.
President Akufo-Addo said his government is working to meet UTAG’s demands in an effort to ensure that the academic calendar is not disrupted.
Source link
