University Administrators withdraw services

The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA) has started an indefinite industrial action, withdrawing its services in all 15 public universities over unpaid outstanding allowances in breach of a previous agreement. 

This was contained in a release issued on Wednesday, and signed by the association’s National President, Michael Owusu Ansah, and the General-Secretary, Austine Amissare, after an emergency executive council meeting.

It said the association, which included all non-teaching staff and professionals in the 15 public universities in the country, would continue the industrial action from Wednesday until all outstanding payments were made and other issues resolved.

Concerns

GAUA explained that the decision became necessary following delays in the implementation of negotiated conditions of service provisions, although “an agreement was reached with the government since July, 2024”.

“A letter of approval for the full implementation of the negotiated conditions of service is yet to be issued by the Ministry of Finance,” it added.

The statement said all attempts to get the government and its relevant agencies to get this done had not yielded the desired results.

It also noted that despite reaching an agreement in principle with the government for the payment of  Online Teaching Support Allowances (OTSA) to eligible staff, the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC), continued to imped  its ways, thereby making it impossible for the parties to conclude negotiations for payment.

It also said that the non-adherence to a memorandum of agreement signed with the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission (GTEC), with June 30, this year as the deadline, remained unattended to despite several reminders sent to GTEC.

The association, therefore, called for an immediate conclusion of negotiations for the payment of the OTSA and demanded that outstanding issues in the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed with GTEC be addressed forthwith.

Background

The association in January, this year, embarked on a strike over conditions of service concerns.

An MoA was signed with the government, represented by GTEC, and witnessed by the Minister of Education, resulting in GAUA suspending its strike which has now been reactivated.

It claimed that the government and its agencies had reneged on promises, and that despite many attempts by GAUA to remind them to keep to the letter and spirit of the agreement, none of them had been heeded to.

The withdrawal of services by GAUA would lead to delays in the admission and commencement of academic work in public universities across the country.

The industrial action would, therefore, impede resumption of academic work in the universities, which are expected to resume later this year for commencement of lectures.