The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Education Committee, Peter Nortsu Kotoe, has urged Government to give ear to the demands of the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG).
The Committee had an intervention meeting with UTAG on Thursday on its strike, at which meeting UTAG committed to taking a decision on the strike at the instance of the Committee.
The Akatsi North MP later told Citi News that the committee discovered that the teachers had legitimate concerns and were willing to engage, but Government was not giving them a listening ear.
“We listened to both sides, and we realised that there was still the need for more to be done, especially on the part of the government because as the employer, you need to listen to workers.”
“There were a number of issues on the table, and we hope that if the government opens up, they should be able to resolve the matter within the shortest possible time,” he said.
An injunction has been placed on the strike by UTAG after an appeal by the National Labour Commission (NLC).
The court has on two occasions ordered both parties to adopt an out-of-court settlement.
UTAG has however not taken a decision to end the strike.
UTAG has been on strike since January 10 to force the government to restore the conditions of service agreed upon in 2012.
The 2012 conditions of service pegged the Basic plus Market Premium of a lecturer at $2,084.42.
UTAG has complained that the current arrangement has reduced its members’ basic premiums to $997.84.