The Senior Staff Association of Public Universities is standing firm on the continuation of their strike, disregarding the directive from the National Labour Commission (NLC) to suspend the industrial action.
Leadership within the Association asserts that they must first convene and hold discussions with their members before deciding on any unilateral decision to end the strike.
National Chairman of the Association, Isaac Donkoh, emphasized in an interview with Citi FM that they are committed to prioritizing the interests of their members and will not be rushed into making any decisions that may be unfavorable to their cause.
“We are still on strike at the moment. So we are expecting that engagement, and we hope and pray that the engagement will yield some positive results. Unfortunately, we planned to meet last week Friday, but we couldn’t convene.”
“So we are planning to schedule a meeting within the week before we meet the government. So we are yet to meet and decide,” he said.
The National Labour Commission (NLC) issued a directive on Thursday, January 25, instructing the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU), the Senior Staff Association of Public Universities, and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff to immediately cease their ongoing strike.
The NLC argued that addressing the various demands presented by the striking teacher unions would only be feasible if the unions comply with this directive. Following a meeting with the unions, Ofosu Asamoah, the Executive Secretary of the NLC, reported progress in addressing some of the concerns raised by the unions.
However, the NLC reiterated that the resolution of the remaining outstanding issues is contingent upon the unions calling off their strike action.
Meanwhile, the Association is expected to meet with the NLC on Thursday, February 1.
The ongoing strike by teacher unions, including the Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union (TEWU) of the Trades Union Congress, the Senior Staff Association of Public Universities, and the Federation of Universities Senior Staff, was initiated in protest against the government’s perceived negligence of issues related to pensions and the alleged unjust termination of their overtime allowances.