UTAG to call off strike

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, students of public universities in the country can breathe a sigh of relief as the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) will call off their strike by close of day tomorrow.

This is because government and UTAG will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) tomorrow that will provide the roadmap towards finding a lasting solution to the impasse between them.

Sources close to the negotiation team told The Finder that at their first meeting last Thursday, UTAG demanded a letter from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning that sets in motion the payment of the Book and Research Allowances before they call off the strike.

Last week, government pledged to pay the Book and Research Allowances for the 2013/2014 academic year.

But the university lecturers said that was not the first time that the government had expressed such commitment to pay the allowances.

They, therefore, decided to continue with their action until the allowances were paid into their accounts.

According to our sources, the letter from the Finance Ministry setting in motion the payment of the Book and Research Allowances by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department is ready and would be presented to UTAG at tomorrow’s meeting, after which the MoU would be signed for UTAG to call off the strike.

Last Tuesday, the leadership of the Polytechnic Teachers Association of Ghana (POTAG) called off their three-month-old strike following the successful conclusion of a similar meeting and a pledge by the government to pay the Book and Research allowances for the 2013/2014 academic year.

Currently, the book allowance stands at $1,500 per lecturer per year while the research component stands at Ghc400.

There were reports that institutions that have nothing to do with research have been benefiting from the research allowance.

Such institutions include the National Accreditation Board, the Ghana Academy of Arts and Science, the Ghana Science Association of Encyclopaedia Africana, the senior staff of the university primaries and the National Board for Professional and Technical Examination.