University Administrators threaten strike over attempted halt in allowances

The Ghana Association of University Administrators (GAUA), has threatened to embark on strike action in June over attempts by the Finance Ministry to halt the payments of allowances of some members.

In a statement, GAUA said that the action will be their response to the government if it goes ahead to withhold the allowances of some members who have been described as “unqualified office holders in the public universities.

The Association said that it has already petitioned the Finance Ministry over the halt in allowances but they have been adamant in being considerate.

“It is in this regard that we write to notify your outfit of intention to embark on an industrial action if the Ministry of Finance through the Ghana Tertiary Education Commission and the Vice Chancellors Ghana proceed to implement the directive without addressing our demands as contained in several communications on this matter”, portions of the statement added.

The group pointed out that the officers of the grade of Assistant Registrars or their equivalents are fully qualified in running universities for years, thus it is unfortunate to be tagged as unqualified to be denied allowances.

According to the Association, the non-payment of the allowances would have dire consequences on the affected persons.

“No amount of justification for the immediate stoppage in this critical period can suffice”, the statement further added.

Meanwhile, the Senior Staff Association of Universities of Ghana has announced that it will be embarking on strike action from today Tuesday, May 18, 2021.

They are striking to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s failure to pay their tier-2 pension arrears, market premiums and non-basic allowance of members.