TUTAG Issues 10-day Deadline To Government

The Technical University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (TUTAG) has given the government a 10-day deadline to address its members’ concerns or face having to put down their tools.

The National Labour Commission’s (NLC) decisions regarding the conditions of service of its members were not implemented, according to the Association, which characterized this as flagrant disdain on the part of the government.

Professor Dr. Ing. Collins Ameyaw, the national president of TUTAG, during a press conference in Kumasi, iterated that: “The issue of codified Conditions of Service for TUTAG members has been outstanding since 2016. TUTAG has patiently engaged government amidst a feet-dragging posture by the latter.”

Meanwhile, TUTAG is also dissatisfied with what they perceived as NLC’s hesitation to uphold its own verdict against the government.

“In a September 2021 ruling, the NMC directed that the effective date of payment of the Internally Generated Fund component of allowance should be August 2021 as negotiated and agreed by the parties and that implementation be done in January 2023.”

“But intelligence picked suggests that the Vice Chancellors of Technical Universities Ghana (VCTU-G) are in backdoor negotiations with some government agencies to defer the effective date of the negotiated IGF-related Conditions of Service to January I, 2023, instead of August 2021.”

“The action by VCTU-G amounts to unfair labor practice, especially when we have concluded negotiations on the allowances in question. We, therefore, advise the VCTU-G to desist from any such interference in the work of TUTAG to ensure industrial harmony on the campuses of the TUs.”

Moreover, the Association strongly expressed its concern with the “exceptional delays that have characterized the payment of the 2021/2022 Book and Research Allowances” when it came to the subject of book and research allowances.

To that effect, Professor Ameyaw emphasized that:  “Even though the MoF has issued the warrant for the release of these allowances, the majority of our members are yet to be paid. TUTAG rejects this unjustifiable delay and calls on the Government to pay its members within this week”.

As a matter of fact, TUTAG issued a warning that if its members’ grievances are not rectified, they will not be able to ensure industrial peace on the various campuses.

“Government must take note of the overwhelming support for strike action at a recently held Congress of TUTAG in Bolgatanga, should Government fail to address these concerns or engage TUTAG to have an amicable settlement of these issues within the next ten (10) days.

After the expiration of this period, TUTAG will not hesitate in any way to declare a strike action should our concerns remain unaddressed”.

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