The Conference of Polytechnic Principals gets mandate

Accra, Feb. 10, GNA - The Government has given a new mandate to the Conference of Polytechnic Principals (COPP) to continue negotiations for review of salaries for 2006 of Polytechnic employees.

The COPP has also been charged to compute the financial implications for the proposed conditions of service submitted by the Teachers and Educational Workers' Union (TEWU) as a basis for revision of new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by Friday, February 10, according to a letter from the COPP to TEWU and made available to the next week", while appealing to staff of polytechnics, who had been on a sit-down-strike, to resume work.

However, Mr Dan Antwi, General Secretary of TEWU, said the new mandate was limited because it did not cover negotiations for conditions of service, which the Union had proposed under a new CBA for the workers.

TEWU has since the past two years been calling for a "full mandate" to negotiate a new CBA for staff of polytechnics. "A full mandate covers salaries as well as conditions of service, but what we have now is only to negotiate for review of salaries," Mr Antwi told the GNA.

Responding to the appeal by the COPP to the striking Polytechnic staff, who are TEWU members to resume work, Mr Antwi expressed fears that the workers might to take the appeal serious unless they got a full mandate.

He urged the COPP, "in the interest of peace," to do everything possible for negotiations on conditions of service to commence without further delay.