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Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations Bright Wireko-Brobbey said the underlying issue for which members of the Ghana University Teachers Association (UTAG) have gone on strike was not addressed.
“So far we haven’t even got to the root of the matter, it is largely a legal dispute,” he said.
He made this statement during an interaction on Joy FM News night Thursday by answering a question asked about the difficulty of meeting the requirements of the UTAG.
He said: “My Minister, the Minister of Education and the Minister of Finance are all on the verge of solving this problem, but sitting together they have to call off the strike, and then we come closer to the table to continue talking. . “
His comment comes after some graduating university students complained that they were not enjoying the best university life following the ongoing strike by the Association of University Teachers of Ghana (UTAG).
According to them, the strike has left them in a state of helplessness as no supervisor takes care of their project work, which is a mandatory condition before graduation.
“We keep coming back to the indefinite of the whole [strike]. The University’s response so far has been “to suspend exams and postpone reopening for the next cohort”. This added to the way things got uncertain for us, ”said one student. JoyNews Wednesday.
The students also noted that the strike, if not suspended, will further increase the pressure on them as they are expected to take exams and participate in their project work while performing their national service mission.
Mr. Wireko-Brobbey also called on the management of UTAG to reconsider its decision by canceling the strike to allow the smooth running of the academic calendar.
“So let me use your medium to appeal to UTAG management that it is the students who are at stake now. They complain that the academic calendar is derailed, everyone is worried. If you are using negotiations and discussions to solve your problem, why be on strike at the expense of these poor students, ”he said.
But in reaction to Mr Wireko-Brobbey’s comments, Legon UTAG chairman Samuel N. Nkumbaan said that as long as they are ready to engage the government to resolve the strike issue, they cannot take the initiative because of the legal problem they are facing. .
“We cannot be in court and then be seated at a negotiating table. What state of mind are we going to negotiate with? What is the negotiation between us and the government as well as each agency which is the Labor Commission? And so we are not in a position until such cases are determined by the courts, ”he said.
According to him, UTAG is not negotiating because negotiations have broken down and the only way left for them to get the message across was to strike.
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