UTAG strike: We don’t eat meetings, negotiations – Gyampo lambasts government

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Professor Ransford Gyampo of the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana has lamented the culture where the government is quick to call for meetings and negotiations after workers have resorted to the option of laying down their tools.

Gyampo, who doubles as secretary of UG’s University Teachers Association of Ghana, UTAG branch, affirmed that the only language that the government understood was strikes.

In an interview with Metro TV on January 10, 2022, he also addressed accusations that UTAG was always quick to resort to strikes instead of exploring other legitimate avenues.

“We are not expecting any swift communication from the government. I think we are tired of talking we are tired of the meetings. We don’t eat meetings and we don’t eat negotiations.

“We’ve been negotiating for better conditions of service since 2014 up till now, so I am completely scandalized by those people who feel that we should still be negotiating and that strike is not the way out.

“You cannot negotiate in perpetuity, you cannot spend all the time of your life meeting. The only language that government understands is strike,” he stressed.

UTAG activates nationwide strike

UTAG on Monday, January 10, 2022, embarked on a nationwide strike action to press home their demand for improved conditions of service (CoS)

The group had from last year been lamenting the worsening conditions of its members and followed through with some demands on government

In its latest press release dated January 8, the group decried the government’s inability to implement as well as meet timelines agreed upon during negotiations as part of efforts aimed at improving the conditions of service of lecturers.

The group is demanding for government to restore members to the 2013 Interim Market Premium of 114% of Basic Salary in the interim whilst Government goes ahead to formulate guidelines to implement the appropriate recommendations to address the CoS of the University Teacher.

It will be recalled that UTAG embarked on a strike on August 2, 2021, to protest what they said was their poor conditions of service.

Among other demands, the university teachers have been asking government to peg the pay of entry-level lecturers at $2,084.

The strike which lasted for some two weeks was called off after UTAG and the government of Ghana signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pave way for negotiations.

Months down the line, some UTAG officials have accused the government of showing bad faith as it failed to honour their demands.